Generation Two
by Paige34
Summary: Kari is pregnant! Takari. Rated only for 'the birds and the bees' kind of talk and slight sexual references. COMPLETE
1. The news

"Have a good day at work, honey." Kari Takashi kissed her husband goodbye.

"You too, Kari. See you tonight." TK walked out the door. Kari closed the door and sighed with relief. He didn't suspect a thing. She was hoping that she would be able to get a few minutes to herself before she had to leave, so she had kind of rushed him out, but luckily he hadn't noticed. She went to the closet and pulled out her grocery bag. Then, off to the bathroom. Following the instructions on the box very carefully, Kari tested herself. _Pink,_ she thought, _positive. _She disposed of the paper and walked slowly into the hallway.

"Kari? What are you still doing home?" Gatomon had come out of the bedroom she shared with Patamon.

"Gatomon..." Kari leaned against the wall and let herself slide down it until she was sitting on the floor, "I'm...I'm pregnant!" Kari burst into tears.

"Kari? Why are you crying? Isn't this a good thing?" Gatomon tried to comfort her partner.

"It's a _wonderful_ thing!" Kari sobbed.

"Then you should be happy."

Kari sniffed and gave her a small smile. "I am happy. Just... a little surprised."

"Does TK know?"

"Not yet."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Tonight, I suppose." Kari sighed, her breath uneven. Just then Patamon walked out.

"Good morning Gatomon. And Kari?"

"Kari's having a baby." Gatomon said, as if it were no big deal. Patamon's eyes grew wide, and he looked panicky.

"But then that means..."

"Yep."

"No!" Patamon started flying around in circles. "I'm not ready! You're not ready! We're not ready! I- how _could_ you?" Patamon came to a stop and glared at Kari, who sat uncomfortably.

"Uh, sorry?" Kari had no idea what was going on.

Now it was Patamon's turn to look uncomfortable. "You didn't tell her yet?" He hissed at Gatomon, trying to ignore the fact that Kari was watching them suspiciously.

"I didn't have a chance." Gatomon looked to Kari. "You see Kari, when a digidestined is going to have a baby, their partner is automatically 'fertilized' too. Once a digimon chooses another digimon to be their partner, all of the female's eggs are fertilized with the male digimon's sperm. These eggs lay dormant until the human partner has a baby."

"The digimon's baby is the human baby's partner." Added Patamon.

"You sound like you're teaching a biology class." Said Kari, "So then, Gatomon's pregnant too?"

"Not pregnant. Fertilized." Gatomon corrected. "The egg should be here in a few days."

"Oh my gosh. This is way too much to take in at one time." Kari slumped.

"Well, you better take it in quickly." Said Gatomon, "You're late for work."

"I'd better call in sick. I don't think I could work after I just found out that I'm carrying a tiny life form along with me."

"When she says it like that it makes me glad that we come out of eggs." Said Gatomon as Kari went to the phone.

Kari was in bed most of the rest of the morning with morning sickness. Gatomon and Patamon tried to help out any way they could.

"Maybe you should call Joe. He's a doctor." Patamon suggested as Kari was making lunch.

"He couldn't help me. He doesn't work with pregnancy. Besides, I want TK with me on my first doctor's appointment." For the rest of the day Kari made a nice dinner and got ready to break the news to her husband.

TK walked through the door, arms full of bags. "Hey Kari, I stopped by the store and... Uh oh." He spotted the table, which was set with their best plates. "The _good_ plates. Is it our anniversary? Not that I forgot or anything," he giggled nervously, "In fact, I bought you a present! It's a..." he dug through one of the bags, "Box of Kleenex?"

"You are a horrible liar." Said Patamon.

"It's not our anniversary."

"Phew. For a minute there I thought tonight was _special_."

"But I thought that every night was special when we were together." Kari said in a hurt voice.

"Of course it is. I meant that I thought that it was more special- I mean, you had out the good plates, so-

"You're in big trouble now." Gatomon said.

"Well, normally, he would be, but I can't tell him the news if we're not on speaking terms, so I forgive him."

"Hmm... was there ever a time we weren't on speaking terms?" TK said to himself, "There was that one Thanksgiving...No, we- Wait. What news?"

"Well, I'm having a baby." TK stood there, eyes wide and popping, and his jaw was dropped. He stayed like that for several seconds.

"Say something, Daddy." Kari was on pins and needles waiting to see what her husband's reaction would be.

"Honey," TK finally got a grip, "this is GREAT!" Kari let out a sigh of relief. "When did you find out?" asked TK.

"Just this morning. I stayed home from work, I was so shocked."

"There's more," Patamon added, "I'm going to be a father too."

"What?" Kari and the digimon proceeded to explain about the egg.

"Wow, Patamon, I can't believe there are going to be _two_ new additions to the family." TK finally said. "It all seems so sudden."

"Well, you've got nine months to get used to the idea." Kari answered. "Then we'll be parents."

Yes, crappy, I know, but I was bored. Please review! And no flames please!


	2. Telling the sibs

"When are we going to tell the others?" asked TK in the morning. Kari immediately understood him to mean the other digidestined.

"Well, telling everyone will be easy, but I want to tell Tai in a really special way."

"Yeah, Matt too. I mean, it's not every day you become an uncle."

"I want to tell them at just the right time. Luckily, they're both on vacation in Africa, and won't be back until Sunday night. We can think of a way to tell them and keep it a secret from them until then."

"That's convenient," Gatomon and Patamon came in. "You don't need time to think up a plan, guys. We already cooked one up for you. See, what we do is..." Gatomon and Patamon whispered inaudibly what their plan would be behind their hands, just like those annoying little-kid cartoons do because they think it keeps you in suspense. Anyway, that Saturday they got the other digidestined together and told them about the baby, and the Plan.

"Ahh! We _have_ to go shopping!" Mimi gushed.

"Congratulations! Gatomon's laying an egg? I have to study her and write a report about it." Said Izzy, the Digital world researcher, to which Gatomon replied, "I am not a chicken, Izzy! Or a lab rat!"

Joe's reply went something like, "Why didn't you tell me sooner! I _am_ the doctor."

"Joe, you study brain surgery." Said Cody.

"Still..."

"Do you guys need a key to their bachelor pad? I have one." Said Sora.

"How did you get one? No wait...don't answer that. I don't want to know." Said TK.

"Do you realize that this is the first baby to be born within the original twelve digidestined?" Davis pointed out, "Of course, if Ken and Yolei don't get a move on, it could be the only one."

"Can it Davis!" Ken and Yolei yelled in unison.

"So can you guys help us?" TK asked.

"Of course," said Yolei, "The 'surprise welcome home' party will be the perfect way to tell them. See you on Sunday."

Kari and TK spent the rest of the weekend working on a giant banner for Tai and Matt. Well, TK spent most of the weekend on it; Kari spent most of the weekend in the bathroom. ("Being pregnant sucks." She said multiple times.) Finally, it was finished (the banner _and_ the morning sickness).

"'Welcome back Uncle Matt and Uncle Tai!' It's amazing how you managed to fit all that on there. But it's perfect!" Kari embraced her husband.

"And just in time, too," Gatomon said. "We need to get over to their house and hang it up if we ever hope to be finished by the time they come home."

"Wow, you're right," TK answered, looking at his watch, "We need to leave."

By the time they got there, they found Yolei, Mimi, and Davis in the kitchen, finishing up dinner.

"How did _you_ get in here?" Kari inquired.

"We have keys."

"Oh. Why don't we have a key?" TK turned to his wife.

"Tai told me he doesn't want his house open to everyone."

"O-kay..." TK said slowly. They went to the living room, where Joe, Izzy, Sora, Cody, and Ken, were cleaning up.

"They live like slobs!" Joe protested.

"How did _you_ get in here?" TK asked. The others just held up their keys. TK stormed, exasperated, into the front room to hang up his banner.

"You mustn't play games with TK's mind like that, Kari." Sora teased. Kari giggled and took out her key, causing a wave of laughter to fill the room.

"They're coming!" TK ran back into the room.

"Quick! Everyone to the front door!" They crowded around. "Surprise!"

Tai and Matt gasped. "For me? Oh, you shouldn't have. But you did, so I'm flattered!" Tai was babbling, but Matt, Augumon, and Gabumon were staring at the banner. "I'm starved!" Tai continued, "What's for dinner? Nice banner, by the way." He walked right past everyone, toward the kitchen.

"Tai, wait!" Sora put his arm around his shoulder and guided him toward Kari, "Don't you want to say hello to Kari? I mean, she's your _baby_ sister."

"Hi sis. Woah, Kari, lay off the Twinkies. They put on a couple pounds around the middle, if you know what I mean." Everyone stared at Tai. "Well, if you don't mind, I want to see what's for dinner." He walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Matt, they made us a cake! Thanks you guys! It looks great! Hey, it says something... 'Congrats Kari and TK ...on...your...baby...'" He walked out looking dazed. "You're having a baby?! Why didn't you tell me?!" He thought for a minute, then suddenly understood. "Oh."

"Kari, this is great!" said Matt at dinner. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know yet. We just found out ourselves." Said TK.

"That reminds me," said Kari, "We need to start looking for a good obstetrician."

"Oh, Dr. Greystone" (A/N: Yes, a very Japanese name, isn't it?) "is the best one I know," Said Joe. "I'll set you up for an appointment if you'd like."

"That'd be great, thanks Joe."

"I'll call right now."

"What's an obstetrician?" Tai whispered to Matt.

"A pregnancy doctor."

"Oh."

"They just had a cancellation for tomorrow at four. Is that okay?" Joe asked.

"Isn't that kind of soon? Kari's only a couple weeks pregnant." Tai pointed out.

"The sooner the better."

"Doctor Joe has spoken!" Tai announced, in case anyone doubted Joe's judgement.

"Man, he's immature. Now I know why you won't marry him yet, Sora." Yolei muttered to her.

"Okay...here's the address." Joe wrote it down. "You'll like Dr. Greystone, I promise."

Yes, crappy ending to a chapter, but I don't think there's much else to say. Please review.


	3. TK's new enemy

"Hi, I'm Doctor Greystone. You must be Kari. Dr. Kido told me about you." A redheaded female offered an outstretched hand. Kari shook it. "And you must be the father, TK. I've heard about you as well."

"Well, I hope you've heard good things," TK made a lame attempt at a joke, and chuckled weakly. (He was a bit nervous for their first obstetrician's appointment.)

"No." Pause.

"Oh." _What did Joe say about me? Darn that Joe_, TK thought.

"I'm joking!" Dr. Greystone laughed. Kari joined in politely.

"Loosen up TK." Kari urged.

"Yeah. I won't bite... hard." The two broke into laughter at TK's anxiety again. _Great_, TK thought, _Joe had to set us up with a comedian_._ One that tells bad jokes._

"Okay. Now I'm going to need to draw blood." Said Dr. Greystone, suddenly serious.

"What for?" asked TK, as if doctors only took blood if something was wrong.

"First of all, we need to see if she's really pregnant. I believe she is, she shows all the signs, but just in case." Dr. Greystone took out a needle and poked it into Kari's forearm. TK flinched, sensitive to her pain, but Kari acted as if nothing had happened.

"Now let me examine the sample. I'll be right back." Dr. Greystone left with the needle.

"You don't like her." Kari immediately accused.

"Yes I do." TK said.

"No you don't. I can tell."

"I was just thinking, why did Joe pick her to be our obstetrician? She's a lunatic!"

"TK, she cracked a few jokes. That makes her a lunatic?"

"_Bad_ jokes Kari. You always have to be careful of doctors that tell _bad_ jokes."

"So she tells bad jokes? So what? Joe trusts her and I trust Joe. End of story. She stays."

TK gave in, knowing he wouldn't win this one.

"Well, you're defiantly pregnant." Dr. Greystone came back in. "The next step is to take blood from the uterus. This is a standard test that tells us whether or not the baby has Down's Syndrome or any other gene alteration. It will also tell us whether the baby is a boy or a girl, if you want to know." (A/N: I have no idea at what point in the pregnancy this test is performed. Being fifteen, I have never had a baby, so bear with me!) She turned to Kari. "Of course, to get to the uterus, we must first get to the vagina, so you can tell your husband to leave if you're not comfortable. Not that it's uncharted territory for him, huh, TK?" Dr. Greystone nudged him playfully.

"I'll leave." TK walked out the door. _She has no business talking about that!_ He thought angrily. He got a drink of water. _But I can't say that to Kari. She wants this doctor, and I have to be supportive of her decision_. He walked back to the room and sat down on the bench outside the door. _Wait!_ TK was alarmed. _I just left Kari in there alone with that psycho woman! _And he spent the rest of the time with his ear against the wall trying to hear what was going on. Unfortunately, the wall was quite thick, so he had no success. Finally Dr. Greystone came back out and said that he could come in.

"Are you okay? She didn't hurt you, did she?" TK muttered to Kari.

"Of course not."

"Okay." Dr. Greystone began, "The test results won't be ready for about a week. I'll call you when they are. You need to see me every three weeks. Until then, study these pamphlets. They'll tell you what to do to have a healthy pregnancy. You know, minimal stress, no heavy lifting, eat healthy, that sort of thing. Fill this prescription, too. It will give you extra vitamins and minerals. Plus, it might help with your morning sickness." Kari snatched it. "Woah, you almost took my hand off there. If you guys don't have any more questions, I'll see you in three weeks." They left.

"I can't believe we get to see her every three weeks. We're going to be one big happy family!" TK said on the drive home, trying to be supportive of Kari's choice in doctors, but at the same time he said it a little to optimistically.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Why don't you trust her?"

"I trust her."

"Okay, fine. At least you weren't sitting on that bench pressed up to the wall trying to hear what we were doing." She laughed, and he chuckled nervously. Luckily, she didn't notice.

"Oh, TK, I can't believe we're going to have a baby!" She suddenly sat upright. "Oh my gosh! We need to plan! We need a nursery! And clothes! And diapers, bottles, pacifiers..." She named a long list of things they needed for their baby.

"Honey, calm down! We can get all those things. We have nine months."

"Eight." Kari corrected. "So do you want to know the sex of the baby?"

"Do you?"

"Well, it _would_ make planning easier."

"Well if you want to, then I want to."

"Thanks TK." TK smiled and pulled in to the driveway.

"Thank goodness you're home!" A frazzled looking Patamon called from the front walkway. "Gatomon is going to lay her egg!"

"I'm not going to lay it, I'm not a chicken!" Gatomon could be heard protesting from inside.

"Well what do you want me to say then?" Patamon called as he flew inside with TK and Kari.

"Say that I'm going to emit it. It's more grammatically correct." Gatomon was lying on a soft blanket. The others tried to hide their giggles.

"Okay, kitten, if that's what you want." Patamon cooed.

"How do you know it's time?" Kari asked her friend.

"I just know. We have a half hour, 45 minutes, tops." Gatomon answered. TK was already on the telephone.

"Izzy, come quick! Gatomon is going to emit her egg!"

* * *

I have no baby/pregnancy/obstetrician/chicken experiences, so my information is not accurate. So if I'm wrong, I have an excuse. Next chapter, Gatomon 'emits' her egg, Kari and TK find out what the sex of the baby is, and start looking for baby names. Please review! 


	4. Emitting and the rookery

Izzy arrived just in time to witness the emitting. It was a good thing too. With all the research he had done studying the digital world, other digimon, and the Internet, he was able to make Gatomon as comfortable as possible.

"Patamon, get closer. It's better for Gatomon, physically and emotionally, to have you closer." Patamon obeyed and held his mate tight. "Okay, now push." Gatomon strained. "Harder!"

"Easy for you to say." Gatomon groaned through clenched teeth.

"Push!"

TK and Kari looked on, worried. "I feel helpless." Said TK.

"Just let Izzy do his thing." Kari answered.

"But how does he know what to do?"

"He's studied Digimon for years."

"But-"

"He knows what he's doing."

"I just can't do nothing!"

"Get some maple syrup, then!" Izzy yelled urgently.

"Maple syrup? But why-"

"Don't ask questions! Just get it!" TK scurried off.

"Here it comes!" Gatomon yelled. I won't go into details, but let's just say that Gatomon got the egg out with much difficulty, but little pain. When it was out, everyone looked on with awe. The egg was a cream color with light purple stripes. Kari went over and stroked it.

"It's warm." Kari smiled.

"And it needs to stay that way." Izzy wrapped it in soft blankets he had gotten from the linen closet. Gatomon was lying back, worn out.

"Oh, look Gatomon! Look what we did!" Patamon was very excited about the egg.

"What _we_ did? I was the one who just passed a watermelon through my birth canal!"

"I have the maple syrup!" TK ran in breathless. "What was it for?"

"Getting rid of you." Izzy answered. Everyone laughed at TK's confused expression.

"Poor TK." Kari pecked him on the cheek sympathetically.

"Wait," said TK as he saw the egg, "You didn't even wait for me?"

"Well sor-_ry_! I'll try to hold it off next time." Said Gatomon.

"You're very sarcastic right now, aren't you?" Kari asked her partner.

"Emitting an egg is hard work."

"Did it hurt?"

"Not really."

"Izzy!" Kari whined, "How come giving birth didn't hurt Gatomon, but it's going to hurt me?"

It took a minute for Izzy to answer. He couldn't remember Kari ever whining before.

"Those hormones are really something, huh?" TK whispered to him.

Izzy smiled. "Yeah." Then to Kari he said, "Gatomon didn't actually give birth, she laid a digi-egg. Or, uh, emitted, rather." He quickly corrected himself at the look on Gatomon's face. "Eggs are smaller than babies, so I'd imagine they wouldn't hurt as much."

"No, really." Izzy and Kari turned to see TK on the phone already. "No, really. No, _really_!" He covered the mouthpiece. "Tai and Matt can't believe it happened already. REALLY!" He shouted to them. "Look, come over and see if you don't believe me. Okay. Okay, bye." He hung up. "They're coming."

"Wow. We haven't gotten them over here that fast since the Pizza Hut truck crashed into the telephone pole in front of our house." Kari went to the kitchen to get something for the boys to eat.

"What now?" TK asked.

"Now we set up a nest for the egg to stay in."

Gatomon glared. "This is a Digi-egg, not a bird egg. It doesn't stay in a nest."

"What does it stay in, then?"

"A rookery." Gatomon looked smug.

"Did you get hold of the thesaurus again?" TK teased. Gatomon glared at him.

"Well, we need to build a rookery. Or rather, Patamon does." Izzy turned.

"Me?" Patamon squeaked.

"Yes. It is your job."

"Who says?"

"Instinct."

"And me." Gatomon said.

"Okay, whatever you say honey." Patamon left.

"Wait! Let me help!" TK ran after him. The doorbell rang. Since Kari was still in the kitchen, Izzy opened the door, revealing the whole gang.

"What are you all doing here?" Izzy said. Kari walked out of the kitchen at about the same time. She sighed and looked sadly at her tray of snacks.

"I'll get more crackers."

"Is this the baby? It's so cute!" Yolei cooed. She, Sora, Mimi, and their Digimon gathered around and coddled the egg.

"Hey! Easy! I don't want my egg scrambled!" Gatomon went to break up the group.

"Okay, so we have an egg. Now what?" Tai turned to Izzy.

"Now we keep it warm until it hatches, of course."

"When will that be?" asked Joe.

"Around the same time as Kari's baby is born."

"We're going to have the egg around for eight months?" Kari came out of the kitchen with a tray of cheese and crackers.

"Yep."

"Okay, we're done!" It was TK and Patamon's turn to emerge into the room.

"You're done with the rookery already?"

"You must never underestimate the power of a father digimon's instinct." Izzy informed them.

"Wait. A rookery? That is _hilarious_!" Tai laughed.

"Yes, a rookery. For the egg that I emitted. Got a problem, human boy?" Gatomon spat.

Matt chuckled. "Yeah, better watch your back, human boy." Tai pounced on him.

"Aw, look Mimi. Two grown men rolling around on the floor like children. Isn't it cute?" Sora and Mimi snickered at their boyfriends. Matt and Tai continued to scuffle.

"Break it up you two. Don't you want to see the rookery?" Ken asked. Tai laughed again and Gatomon hit him on the back of his head with her paw. The others followed TK to Patamon and Gatomon's room, where a nice rookery of electric blankets and heating lamps had been set up. Patamon and TK smiled modestly as the others examined their handiwork.

"Here." Kari placed the egg in the rookery. "Fits perfectly. Great job guys!"

"Now it just needs one of those little spinny noisy baby thingys." Davis said.

"A mobile, Davis?" Cody suggested.

"Whatever."

"Well, I'd say this is a pretty important day." Joe smiled.

"Yeah, and the next important day is sometime this week." TK pointed out.

"That's when we find out the sex of the baby." Kari explained to her friends' confused looks. "Just a few days…"

* * *

Okay, I lied. I said Kari and TK would find out the sex and look at baby names this chapter, but the egg thing took longer than I thought. So I promise, next chapter for sure. Sorry. I'm also sorry that Gatomon was kinda mean this chapter, but give her a break, she just laid an egg. Or, uh, emitted. Anyway, see ya next time. 


	5. What's in a name?

A few days later came. It was Thursday evening. Tai and Matt came over for dinner.

"Yeah, so, Mimi broke up with me." Everyone spit out his or her rice, except Tai, who already knew, at Matt's sudden outburst. "It's no big deal." He said, "She just wasn't the right girl for me. I wasn't the right guy for her. So we broke up. It was surprising, really, how we could go back to being friends so quickly."

"Were you upset?" Asked Kari, concerned.

"No. I would've broken up with her if she hadn't said something first."

"Well that's good." Said TK.

"Yeah. But there is one thing I miss."

"What?" Asked TK.

"Her cooking is _so_ much better than yours."

TK glared at his brother and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the telephone. He put up a finger in a silent 'one-minute' sign and picked it up.

"Hello? Oh, _hi_ Dr. Greystone. What a pleasant surprise." He put his hand over the receiver and shushed Matt and Tai, who were laughing at how syrupy TK sounded. "Our test results? Okay, let's hear 'em… Good… Yes, we do… Really? Great, thanks!" He hung up and said to a now silent room, "Kari, you are carrying a healthy baby boy!" Everyone went crazy, and the shocking news Matt had told them was forgotten.

"Hello, Baby Tai!" Tai cooed to Kari's belly. "We can't wait to meet you!"

"Baby TAI!?!" TK and Matt shouted.

"Who says the baby's named after you?" Matt pushed Tai out of the way. "Hey, Baby Matt! What's up!"

"Move!" Tai and Matt got into a fight over who got to talk to the baby next, Kari caught in the middle until TK rescued her. He carried her over to the sofa and laid her down.

"There," he said, "Now I can talk to baby TK."

"Baby TK!" Kari couldn't believe it.

"I'm kidding, love." He kissed her. She kissed back until she realized that Matt and Tai were watching them. She pushed TK away.

"Do you _mind_?" She asked her brother.

"Not at all. Please continue."

"I'll take care of it." TK got up and guided them in the direction of the door. He opened it to find Sora on the doorstep, finger hovering an inch from the doorbell, looking at him, startled.

"Sora. What a pleasant surprise!" TK hurried her inside, out of the July heat.

"I brought you something." She explained. "Oh, hi boys. Matt, I'm so sorry about you and Mimi."

"Don't be. We aren't exactly a match made in heaven."

"Wow. It's so relieving that you both have the same outlook on this." It seemed that Sora was as concerned as Kari had been. Romances always changed their group, especially when they didn't work out.

"Sora!" Kari said excitedly, sitting up, "It's a BOY!"

"Aaahhh!!!" Sora screeched. The two had a little shrieking fit ("Oooh, that is sooo cute!" and "I am soooo excited!").

"I am soooo glad it's not a girl." Matt said, mocking the two, while TK and Tai nodded in agreement.

"This is such a coincidence. Because I brought you a baby name book." Sora said when they had settled.

"You'd better start looking for names for it." Matt asked when they finally settled down.

"It's not an 'it' anymore, it's a him." Kari objected.

"And don't you forget it!" Tai scolded. "And why do they need a name book? His name is Tai, Jr."

"No way!" Said Matt.

"Well, what else?"

"It's up to TK and Kari." They shot Matt thankful looks.

"What happened to 'Baby Matt?'" Tai asked.

"I was kidding. Weren't you?"

"No."

"Tai," Sora reasoned, "When you have children, you can name them whatever you want. But this is Kari's baby."

"Can Kari's baby be named Tai, Jr.?"

"Only if she wants him to be."

"Kari? TK?"

"No." They said in unison.

"Darn."

"Matt's right, though. We _should_ start looking." TK said.

"Okay, let's see here…" Kari opened the book, "How about Kenzabur?"

"What kind of a book did you _buy_ Sora?" Tai rounded on her.

"What do you mean? It's a decent name."

"I am not having a nephew named Kenzabur!"

"Fine." Kari looked again. "How about Juro?"

"Sounds to much like Joe." TK complained.

"Oh, so now you're going to name him after Joe?" Tai complained.

"Yukiro? It means, 'gets what he wants.'"

"Our son will _not_ be spoiled."

"I don't know… With a friend like Mimi…"

"We aren't getting anywhere with you picking the names," TK took the book. "Okay, let's see… Nazomi? It means hope."

"That's perfect!" Kari exclaimed.

"Oh wait… it's a girl name."

"Give me that!" Matt snatched the book from TK. "Tomo. I like that name."

"What does it mean?"

"Twin."

"Good heavens, no!" Said Kari. "Let's hope not!"

"Zinan? It means 'second son.' Oh. Guess not."

"Let me see!" Tai grabbed the book from Matt. "Tai? It means 'good-looking one.'"

"No!"

"Fine. Akira means anchor."

"Anchor? Not a chance." The name choosing went on.

"Matsua?"

"Kanko?"

"Oda?"

"Ikku?"

"Ooo, I like this one. Katai!" Tai beamed.

"Tai, _no_."

"You guys," Kari said finally, "We don't have to pick tonight. We have eight months."

TK checked his watch. "Woah! It got late. Kari needs her sleep." He turned to the others. "_Leave_."

"TK!" Kari hit him with the pad of paper they were using to write names down on.

"No, he's right Kari. Time to call it a day." Everyone left. Kari and TK checked on Patamon and Gatomon in their room. They were asleep, both curled around the egg to keep it warm. Then they went to bed themselves. Just before Kari fell asleep she heard TK say, "I don't know. I kinda liked Kenzabur."

* * *

Well, it took a while to get this chapter out. One very terrible rough draft and a lot of Japanese baby name websites produced this one. Hope you liked it! 


	6. A day with the digis

Patamon woke up before Gatomon did. He went into the kitchen to see TK and a three month pregnant Kari off to work. He said goodbye and looked at the clock. 7:30. A half-hour to go. He went back to his room.

"Good morning, honey." He snuggled against her. "It's time to get up."

"Why?" She murmured. Patamon had never woken her up intentionally before. Especially this _early_.

"Because I have a special surprise for you today. And you can't enjoy it if you're asleep."

"Is that so?" She opened her eyes in curiosity. "And what might it be?"

"Well, if you get up you'll find out."

"Okay." Patamon left her to get ready, and went out to prepare breakfast (not very easy for someone his size). Gatomon came out, looking groomed and more awake. He gave her a can of tuna.

"Oh, tuna for breakfast. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion. You just work so hard at taking care of our egg."

"Oh, that is so sweet!" She smiled and ate her breakfast gingerly. The doorbell rang.

"Oh! Who could that be?" Patamon asked innocently. Gatomon giggled. He was a horrible liar. She followed him to the door.

"Biomon! Palamon! What a surprise!" He was talking like that on purpose now.

"Oh, cut it out." Gatomon said playfully. "What's this all about?"

"We're taking you out." Biomon answered.

"Yes. You work much to hard." Palamon added.

"But what about my egg?"

"Don't worry honey. I'll egg-sit."

"But-"

"Have a good time!" Patamon called after them and closed the door. He let out a sigh of relief. "Another minute and we would've had a big problem." As if on cue, the doorbell rang again. "Hey guys!" He said to Augumon, Gabumon, Tentamon, Gomamon, Wormon, Hawkmon, Armodillomon, and Veemon. Basically, all the boys had come.

"I'm glad you're here. Quick! To the garage!" Patamon flew past them toward his temporary woodshop. "We need to work if we want to get done before Gatomon comes back. The girls can only distract her for so long."

"Where'd you get all this stuff?" Augumon asked when he saw all the building supplies in the garage.

"Yolei's uncle owns a construction company." Hawkmon explained.

"This was a great idea, Patamon!" Gomamon exclaimed.

"Yeah, but who's watching the baby?" Wormon asked.

"Aah!" Patamon ran in the house to bring out the egg. "Now," he said as he got it settled into one of the cloths TK used for the car, "I've been working on this for a while. I've already got the walls constructed, but we need to put them in the room and paint them."

"Okay, guys. Let's do it." Augumon and Gabumon picked up one of boards and headed back toward the house. The rest followed their example.

"Wait!" Patamon remembered the egg this time. "After I just got it out here." He complained.

The digimon began putting up the walls, separating Patamon and Gatomon's room into many different rooms. A whole digi-house. The walls were only about waist high on a human, but they were perfect for the soon-to-be threesome that resided there. Patamon planned to have a family room, master bedroom, kitchen, guest room, and, of course, a nursery. (It was a big room, and could fit all that.) TK had helped him with the floor plan and measurements. In addition, a small door that they could use was to be cut at the base of the real door. That way, Gatomon didn't have to wait for Patamon to fly and reach the doorknob that she couldn't. (She had refused to let TK install a pet flap because she was 'not a dog.')

"What about this?" Tentamon motioned toward the rookery.

"Move it into the hall. It'll get in the way." Wormon and Hawkmon obeyed. Patamon put the egg inside. "Now someone has to watch it. I want the door closed so the noise won't disturb it."

"I volunteer!" Gomamon rushed out and shut the door.

"He seemed a little too eager." Veemon said suspiciously.

"Forget about it. We need to get busy." Armodillomon said. The room was soon filled with the sound of hammering and drilling. When all the walls were up, the painting began. The digimon talked while they worked.

"So, Augumon. Gabumon." Hawkmon said, "What's it like, living in Matt and Tai's bachelor pad?"

"It's, um," Augumon glanced at Gabumon, "Eventful."

"How so?"

"Well," Gabumon replied, "Last night Tai fell asleep on the couch and Matt duct taped him down and yelled 'Fire!'" Everyone laughed.

"Poor Tai." Said Wormon.

"Yeah." Augumon agreed. "The only thing he could come up with was the old 'fly in the ice cube' trick."

"Matt didn't even blink." Gabumon recalled. "Hey, Patamon? What color's the nursery supposed to be?"

"Blue. Baby blue."

"Oops." Augumon said under his breath. "Is green okay?"

"What kind of green?" Patamon walked in and was almost blinded by a bright neon green. "You nitwits!"

"We didn't know!" Gabumon defended.

"Who in their right mind would paint a nursery neon green?"

"Uh…Don't look at me! I'm…_colorblind_. Blame Augumon, it was his fault!"

"What!" Augumon shot dirty looks at Gabumon.

"Why do you have green paint anyway?" Patamon asked.

"How should I know? It was in the garage."

"Well, there's only one thing to do. Hawkmon! Tentomon! Veemon! Come and help us re-paint the nursery. We're going to need a few layers of paint to cover up this green." With all six of them in there, it was kind of crowded. "You two," Patamon pointed to Gabumon and Augumon, "Take over the master bedroom. And paint it _white_!" They obeyed.

The rest of the painting went smoothly. And quickly, with eight digimon on the job.

Armodillomon gasped. "These fumes are getting strong. Let's open the window and the door to air it out."

"Yeah." Patamon agreed "And we aren't drilling, so the noise won't bother the egg."

"It won't bother Gomamon either." Tentamon opened the door to reveal a drowsy Gomamon.

"Hey, guys. Done already?"

"Have you been sleeping the whole time?"

"Yep. Easiest baby I've ever sat." Silence. Then everyone broke out in chatter.

"I can't believe it!"

"After we've been working like dogs!"

"I knew he volunteered a little too quickly."

"Yeah, Veemon, you were right."

"I say make _him_ do the rest of the work."

"No! We don't have enough time. We'll help, but he owes us, big time." Gomamon grinned sheepishly.

They did not let Gomamon have it easy. He could hardly breathe in between, 'Paint this' and 'Fix that.' But they got done a lot faster than expected. And then they got to move in all the furniture.

"Where'd you get all the small furniture?" Augumon asked.

"One of Yolei's uncles makes doll furniture. TK and Kari bought it off of him."

"It's perfect!" Veemon exclaimed, "You have a table, chairs, a bed, a couch… even a crib! How much did they _pay_?"

"A lot. But when I explained my idea, they were all to happy to contribute the money." To the disbelieving stares he admitted, "Okay, I had to beg and plead and agree to become housemaid for a month."

"Wow. You must really love Gatomon."

"And our future child." Patamon smiled.

"Maid for a month. Man, would I hate _that_ job!" Gomamon said.

Gabumon and Augumon got matching devious smiles. "Hey, Gomamon, come here." They each took one of his smiles and forcefully led him out the room.

It was easy to get the furniture moved in. The flying digimon could lift things over the wall and leave the halls more clear for those who couldn't fly. The 'house' started to look like a 'home.'

"Done!" Patamon slumped down on the new couch. "Finally!"

"I'm am so pooped, I bet I couldn't even eat a pickle and onion sandwich!" Veemon joined him.

"Why would you _want_ to?" asked Tentomon.

"Hey Patamon!" Augumon and Gabumon came in, "We want to give you your housewarming present. Tada!" They opened the door wider to reveal Gomamon, in a full maid's outfit. He had an apron, feather duster, even one of those doily things on top of his head. Everyone laughed, even though they had kind of suspected what Augumon and Gabumon were up to.

"Patamon! How's my baby?'

Patamon gasped. "Gatomon's home!" Everyone ran out of the room and closed the door.

"Patamon? Why is everyone in our house? And why is Gomamon in a dress?"

"Because of this." Patamon opened the small door.

"Oh, you installed a new door for me. How sweet! Wait. What's that?" She walked in and saw the boys' work. "Oh my god…" Gatomon was breathless, the suddenly excited. "Oh my god! You _have_ to give me a tour! I can't believe it! How did you do this? Did you all help? Thank you. Aaah, we have a house!" Gatomon ran to her mate and hugged him, hard. Then she began tugging on his arm to give her a tour.

"Ah! Arm…attached…"

"Come on! Show me!" Everyone helped show her around. Then they all had dinner. Newly fed and completely exhausted, Patamon and Gatomon were left with eight worthless lumps.

"Oh, you poor guys. You can't possibly go all the way home." Gatomon said sympethetically.

"I'll tell Kari and TK to call their partners when they get home. In the mean time, you sleep on the couch." He pointed at his friends. "No, better yet, Kari and TK's couch. It's bigger." The digimon lugged themselves out.

"Oh, Patamon, you are so sweet. I can't believe you did all this for me. Thanks." She kissed him. They suddenly heard a door open and close. TK's voice came drifting from the hall.

"Who put these lumps on my couch?"


	7. TK's tantrum

"TK, do you know what we need?" Kari asked at breakfast.

"More bacon?" TK suggested, helping himself to the last piece.

"No. We need to go to parenting class."

"Parenting class! What for?"

"For our baby! We have no idea about how to take care of one!"

"What are you talking about? I babysat all through high school. I can take care of a baby."

Kari studied him. "What do you do if the baby won't stop crying?"

"Call his parents." TK answered smugly.

"We're going."

And that was the end of that.

"Hello. I'm Taro. I'll be your instructor as you embark on this wonderful adventure called parenthood." Taro smiled, and TK rolled his eyes. _Corny_, he thought, _but at least she doesn't tell bad jokes. Hey! Cookies!_ TK dug into the cinnamon ginger flavored cookies that were on a plate on a nearby table. He was joined by several other fathers, who had spotted the cookies as well. Taru said some other things that which TK tuned out.

Suddenly the group parted and Kari was calling him over to a changing table.

"What's this?" TK picked up the doll that was lying on the table.

"Weren't you listening? This is our baby. We need to take care of it."

"But it's a doll."

"No, it's our baby."

"It's a doll."

"Okay!" Taro called to a noisy room. "Your babies will start crying now. It's up to you to get it to stop. Ladies, you go first. Ready? Go!" All the babies started to cry. TK watched in amazement as Kari diapered the baby and fed it, then gently patted its back until it stopped crying.

"Very good ladies." Taro said. "Now give it to your husbands. Ready boys? Go!" The babies cried again. TK diapered, fed, and burped the baby just as Kari had done, but it wouldn't stop crying. TK began to get frustrated.

"Shut…up!" He yelled, smashing the doll's head against the changing table.

"Our baby!" Kari cried, horrified.

"It's a _doll_!" TK said.

"You're killing it!"

"It won't shut up!"

"Mr. Takashi!" Taro had come over. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

"Obviously some kind of birth control!"

"No, Mr. Takashi, this is a baby."

"It's a doll!"

Taro sighed and put a key into a hole in the doll's back. The doll stopped crying.

"Hey! Where can I get one of those?"

"Mr. Takashi, I think you qualify for my Saturday 'Extra Difficult Parent' Class."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"I think it's a good idea, TK. Taru had a very impressive background." Said Kari.

"I will not pay for Taro to teach me how to do something I can do just fine!" Kari looked at the dented head of the doll.

"Then I'll pay for it." She said.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I am _not_ a difficult parent!"

"You're going, and that's final!"

"Wonderful! In this coarse I will work hands on with Mr. Takashi. I promise a five star parent by four o'clock." Taro went to help another couple.

"What does he mean by 'hands on?'"

TK turned out the light on Friday night and got comfortable. "I'm not going, you know." He said to his wife.

Kari turned over to face him. "TK, how many times do I have to tell you? You're going."

"I don't want to."

"TK, this is not about you. This is about our son. You have to do what's best for him, not what's convenient for you. That's fatherhood. Promise me you'll think of him."

TK put his hand on Kari's stomach. Her pants have been getting tighter and tighter. Their son was growing, and there was no turning back. He nodded. Kari was right. It was time to get serious.

"I promise. I'll do anything for our son."

Kari smiled and pulled the covers to her chin.

"You know, I _really_ don't like this guy." TK said as they walked down the hall in the community center on Saturday.

"You don't like anyone, do you?"

"Yes I do."

"Dr. Greystone, Taro…"

"That's different. They're both weenies." TK saw that Look on Kari's face. "But I'm going anyway." She smiled.

"Good morning, Mr. Takashi! Are you ready to learn about how to care for your future child?" _Those corny lines again._ TK thought. Taro was all smiles. _And he would be, with all the money we're paying him._

"You bet he is. And call him TK." Kari said. "Well, honey, I'll be back at four." She kissed him on the cheek and left.

"Okay TK-"

"Mr. Takashi." TK corrected firmly.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I kinda put on that routine for the wives. It's so annoying." TK raised his eyebrows, unsure whether or not to believe him. "So let's get started. Let's go with the basics. This is a baby." Taro held up a doll. "Yes, I know it's doll, but use your imagination." TK had to smile. Taro had said it so _sarcastically_. "Anyway, there are three things you need to know about it. How to feed it, how to burp it, and how to change it. Because the first couple months, that's all they do. Eat, sleep, and burp."

He opened a cabinet and took out a vial. "Now, babies need warm milk. Don't ask me why, I'm not a mother. But you heat it up on the stove or in the microwave." Taro demonstrated. "The most important thing to do is test how hot the milk is by putting a drop or two on your forearm, like this. What do you think? Is it to hot or too cold?"

TK took the bottle and put a drop on his skin as Taro had. The milk wasn't scalding, but TK wasn't sure. "I think it's too hot."

"Very good! You're wife doesn't give you enough credit. Remember, baby's mouths are more sensitive than yours." He got a different bottle. "How about this one?"

"Is this one okay?"

"Two for two, Mr. Takashi! Okay, now give it to the baby. Support it's head…that's it."

"This is easy!" said TK, as the baby 'drank' the milk.

"Lesson number two. Babies need to be burped. They can't do it on their own, and all that gas can be quite uncomfortable. So take the baby and put it over your shoulder. Pat it firmly. I said firmly, not violently! Gentle, that's right. Good. Oh!" TK's back was suddenly wet.

"I don't even want to know what that is. How the heck did that doll do that!"

"It's programmed that way. But it's okay, babies do that. You would usually put something, like a towel or cloth diaper, over your shoulder to keep your shirt clean."

"Failed to mention that little detail, did you?"

"Well, the good news is you burped the baby!"

"Yippee." They got TK cleaned up.

"Lesson three. Now, your baby needs changing. The diapers are over here. Undo those tabs. Now wipe it…right. This baby has a rash, so put some lotion on your finger and wipe it. Yes, right there. Good. Slip the old one out and put the new one on. A little tighter, perfect. You're a natural." TK smiled and picked the baby up, remembering to support its head.

"All right, now what we're going to do is…" Taro proceeded to instruct TK in bathing, holding, carrying, rocking, and caring for an infant. TK was well versed in babies by the time Kari came to pick him up.

"Wait! There's one more thing." Taro picked up a book from a big stack. "This will help you in parenting. It comes free with the lesson. There's a list in the back of other books you may want to read. Good luck!"

"Well, did you have fun?" Kari asked.

"I learned a lot." TK admitted.

"Good." Kari hid a smile.

"Go ahead." TK said.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on. You know you want to."

"Okay. I told you so." Kari laughed.

"Yep. You were right."

"Thank you. So I bought the some cute things for the baby, and I scheduled another appointment with Dr. Greystone. (Don't make that face at me TK, it has to be done!) We get our first ultrasound at the end of this month!"

* * *

Sorry, kind of a choppy ending to a chapter. I'll do better next time. And sorry about TK's little temper tantrum with the doll, he just needs to learn a little patience. : )  



	8. The return of Dr Greystone

"Can I come?" Tai asked on the phone.

"Uh…sure." Kari answered, a bit surprised at his sudden request. "Of course you can Tai."

"Are you inviting Tai? I want to invite someone too." TK said.

"But TK, we can only fit so many people in that tiny room…Oh, fine. Okay Tai. Tomorrow at three." Kari hung up and handed the cordless to a smiling TK. "Are you inviting Matt?"

"No. Davis."

"Davis? Oh, TK, you aren't starting this again…"

"I just want him to know what our baby looks like." TK defended.

"TK, Davis isn't interested in me anymore. It was just a crush he had when we were children."

"'Just a crush?' I wouldn't call stalking 'just a crush.'"

"He didn't stalk me. Why do you have to tease him about it all the time?"

"I'm not teasing him. I'm _poking fun _at him. Seriously, Kari, Davis is a good friend of mine. He knows I'm just kidding."

"I still don't like it. Why don't you take Matt? He's your brother, and soon he'll be an uncle."

Well, as it turns out, neither Davis nor Matt could come, so TK invited Cody. It had been a while since they had seen each other, and Cody was fun to be with.

"Hello Tai. Are you excited to see your nephew?" Cody greeted Tai in the waiting room while Kari and TK glanced through magazines.

"You bet. But I also want to see this Dr. Greystone my brother-in-law is so fond of." Tai answered. TK grumbled from behind his magazine. "What was that TK?"

"Nothing."

"Takashi?" Called a nurse. The foursome walked toward the room the nurse indicated, some more reluctantly than others. "Dr. Greystone will be here in a minute."

"No hurry." TK answered.

"Hey, a TV! I wonder if the game is on." Tai headed for the monitor.

"Tai, don't you touch that screen!" Kari ordered.

"Okay, okay. Man, this is a dismal place. All it needs is leg irons. What are these for?" Tai pointed to the stirrups at the end of the exam bed.

TK shuddered. "You don't want to know."

"I'm surprised he doesn't. Even I know what those are for." Cody replied. Tai lost interest in the stirrups and started playing with the small rubber hammer the doctor uses to test reflexes. He hit his knee, causing his leg to kick a chair, which made a loud clanking sound. Tai steadied the chair and gingerly put the hammer down.

"It's never dull with Tai around." Kari had to admit.

"What do we have here?" Dr. Greystone walked in and smiled.

"This is my brother Tai, and our friend Cody." Kari replied.

"It's very nice to meet you doctor." Cody bowed, kendo-style.

"Oh, do you do martial arts? What kind? You look like a karate man to me."

Cody turned red. "It's kendo, actually."

"Huh. Never heard of it." Dr. Greystone turned to Tai. "And it's nice to meat you too, Tai. It's not every day I meet someone with hair the size of a continent. Heehee." Kari hid a smile. Both boys looked ready to strangle Dr. Greystone.

"Now, TK," The doctor continued, "Have you been taking care of Kari? You made sure she's taking her folic acid pills, right? If she doesn't take three each day, the baby's whole central nervous system could be shot!"

The color drained from TK's face. "_Three_? Bu- But I thought-"

Dr. Greystone laughed. "Just kidding. She only has to take two a day. Scared ya, huh?" TK was breathing hard, clenching his chest, relieved.

Dr. Greystone would not shut her mouth while examining Kari. "So, this morning I was with a patient that was in labor, and all of a sudden her dog runs in! Her dog! And I was like, 'Who let that dog in here?' I mean, we can't have a dog in the delivery room! Think how much trouble it would cause. I must say, I have never heard of anything like that ever happen before." Dr. Greystone finished.

Kari smiled politely, but the boys just stared with a glazed look in their eyes.

"Uh, water! I'm thirsty!" TK ran to the little water tank that he had escaped to on his first appointment, Cody and Tai on his heels.

"Man, she's insane! Psychotic!"

"I can't believe she scared me like that! What if I had actually done something to hurt Kari or the baby? That is nothing to joke about!"

"She dissed the hair." Tai growled.

"She thought I did karate! Karate!!"

"What's wrong with karate?"

"Oh, it's a decent martial art," Cody said, "But you don't call someone who practices Kendo a 'karate man.' It's just not done."

"Okay, guys, calm down." TK took a deep breath. "I know we don't like this lady, but Kari does, so we have to be supportive."

"Right. We have to do this for Kari." Tai agreed. Cody nodded.

"Okay. Ready to go back?" TK asked. _Reality should hit right about…_

"Oh no! We left my sister alone with that hair-dissing madwoman!" They raced back into the room.

"Welcome back." Dr. Greystone greeted them. "How was the water?"

"Uh, wet." Tai answered truthfully.

"Well, while you were gone, I finished all of the routine stuff. So are you ready for Baby to make his debut?" She rubbed gel on Kari's bare belly, then put a strange-looking device on it. "Ah, there he is." She turned on the TV screen. "Healthy little critter. Growing quite nicely."

Normally, TK would've objected to Dr. Greystone calling his son a 'little critter,' but he was too mesmerized by his son's appearance to care. _Wow. Look at that. Two arms, two legs…he grew all that in just three months. I can't believe that I helped make that. It's my baby. Hey, if he looks like this now, how will he look in six months?_

_That human being is inside of _me_? I'm nourishing, protecting, helping him to grow? And I don't even think about it. My body does it all on it's own. The human body is so complex. It's miraculous._

_I can't believe that Kari is carrying my nephew around. He looks just like ME! You know, some people have trouble reading these things, but this one is so clear._

"And there's his nose…" Dr. Greystone was saying. _Oh, that's his _nose_? In that case he looks like Matt. Maybe this isn't as clear as I thought…_

This whole time Cody was just looking at the screen. "Nori!" he suddenly cried out. Everyone turned in surprise. "He looks like a Nori." Everyone stared. TK turned back to the TV screen and squinted.

"You know what? He kinda does."

"How can you tell? He's not even in color." Tai pointed out.

"Nori. It's a gender-neutral name." TK said.

"Hmm… Nori," Kari thought. "Short, sweet, and has nothing to do with Tai. I like it."

"You're doing that just to annoy me, aren't you?" Tai glared at his sister. "Well it's not going to work," He continued in a 'so there' kind of voice, "because I happen to like the name Nori. Anything's better than Kenzabur."

"Well, don't forget, you still have six months to decide." Dr. Greystone unhooked the machine. "Now I'll be right back. Stay here. Don't run away!" She joked.

"Wouldn't dream of it." TK said to her back.

Suddenly chimes filled the room. "Oh, my cell phone." Tai answered it. "Hey Matt. Is your concert over? Yes, I will pick up chips on way home. Man, you should be here. You missed Nori. Man is he cute. Not as cute as me of course, but he comes pretty close. Yeah, Cody thought it up. Yeah, I know they're not naming it Baby Tai, but at least they aren't naming it Baby Matt either. Hey! Goggle head?! Okay, you just wait until I get home. I'll show you who's the Goggle head! Fine. Bye." Tai hung up and rounded on TK. "Ooh! Your brother!"

"Yeah. Matt has that effect on people."

"Hi! Did you miss me?" Dr. Greystone said.

"Not really." Cody muttered.

"I brought you a tape of the ultrasound, your baby's first pictures, and a prescription for vitamins to take during your second trimester." She piled it all into TK's arms. "Don't forget to set up an appointment with the receptionist on your way out." And she was gone.

"Come on, TK. We have to go home and fax these pictures to Davis and the others who couldn't be here today." Kari snatched the pictures from TK's pile and gazed proudly at them.

"Okay."

"Oh, hey Davis," TK said on the phone at home, "You got the pictures?"

"Yeah, but they just look like a black and gray blob to me. Sorry, but I just don't see it. I'm upset."

"That's okay. At least you're not over here. Kari's making me fax these pictures to everyone in Japan. Hey, honey? Do you still keep in touch with your Aunt Gertrude?"

"She never even mails us Christmas cards. But send her some anyway!" Kari called.

"Okay." TK sighed. "See? So what are you up too?"

"Oh, nothin'. Just hanging out, eating pizza."

"Ah, to be a carefree bachelor."

"You say that as if you know more than I do."

"I've always known more than you have." TK joked.

"Watch it…"

"So, did you call for any specific reason?"

"No, I-"

"Oh, hang on. I have another call. Hello? Okay. But I can't! My wife is pregnant, I can't just leave her. No. But- Okay. Sure. Bye." He switched back to Davis. "My boss wants me to go out of town on business next month! What am I going to do? I can't leave Kari alone!"

"Yeah, it will be pretty hard. All she has are two arms, two legs, and two digimon there to take care of her."

"You see what I mean, then."

"Can you get out of it?"

"No, my boss says it's mandatory. I can't go out of town! She'll be almost five months pregnant!"

"Just call someone to come over and Kari-sit."

"I think that's what I'm going to have to do."

"Who ya gonna call?"

"Davis, you gotta stop watching old '80s movies at night. I think I'll call Joe. He's a doctor."

"I know. But he studies brain surgery."

"Yeah, but he still knows how to take care of Kari. You think brain surgery is the only thing he studies? I'm going to call."

"Kay. See you." TK hung up, only to pick right back up and call Joe.

"I don't need Joe to come over TK!"

"Kari! How long have you been eavesdropping on me?"

"Since I heard my name being mentioned."

"So then…the whole time."

"Yeah. Pretty much. And let me just say that I can take care of myself."

"I know. But what if something happens? Joe is coming." Something in TK's voice told her that he was not about to be swayed, and she walked away muttering angrily about 'overprotective husbands.'


	9. TK's trip

"Now, Joe has the night shift this week, so he'll be with you during the day." TK told his wife. "And Izzy has agreed to stay with you at night."

"Why doesn't Izzy just stay with me all the time?"

"Because Joe is a doctor and Izzy has a job."

"I just can't believe that you got a trip on the same week we had planned our vacation."

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't fly anyway."

"But now I have a whole week to do nothing except hang around the house."

TK kissed her cheek. "I wouldn't have it any other way. You need your rest."

"You know that I haven't been as tired since the second trimester started."

"That doesn't mean that you don't need your rest."

"You worry too much."

"You don't worry enough." They smiled at each other. TK shut his suitcase. "All set. I leave first thing in the morning."

Yes, the second trimester had brought many new changes. Kari had stopped having morning sickness and was more energetic. She had also switched to elastic waistband pants for her seemingly elastic waistline. Kari was growing, and it was beginning to show.

"I'm so _fat_!" Kari cried on the scale the next morning.

"You're not fat."

"But I've gained so much weight!"

"Honey, you're _pregnant_. Get off the scale and come say goodbye!"

"Okay. Goodbye." Kari said in a bored sounding voice.

"That's it? I'm going to be gone for a week and all you can say is 'goodbye?'" TK imitated her.

"Fine. Goodbye, _pookie_."

"Pookie!" TK said, disgusted.

"Hurry up, or you'll be late."

"'Kay." They kissed goodbye.

"Have fun, TK!" Patamon said.

"Bring us souvenirs!" Gatomon added.

"Yeah, yeah." TK drove away.

Kari went inside and cracked some eggs into a frying pan. "Wouldn't it be funny if Joe didn't show? After TK went through all that trouble."

"I think if you told him that, he'd run back to 'save you.'" Gatomon sipped a glass of milk that Kari handed her.

"He's so worried about you." Patamon shook his head. "Poor pookie."

"Hello?" Joe's voice could be heard in the kitchen.

"In here, Joe!" Joe walked in. "Want some scrambled eggs?"

"Sure, thanks." Joe poured a glass of orange juice.

"How was the night shift?"

"Quiet. Good thing the employee lounge has a couch or I'd be exhausted today."

"I have a question." Patamon said. "You're a brain surgeon. Don't humans usually make appointments to have brain surgery? Why are you on the night shift?"

"You never know when someone will have a stroke, Patamon. And if there's nothing going on in my department, and they're short on people, they'll put me in the ER. Just because I specialize in brain activity doesn't mean I can't help out in there."

"Less talking, more eating." Gatomon stared at the pancakes Kari was putting on her plate (Gatomon refused to eat eggs).

"Sorry to keep you waiting, your majesty." Kari laid the plate down.

"Are these blueberry pancakes?"

"Yes."

"Then I forgive you." Gatomon dug in.

"Can I help you with the dishes, Kari?" Joe asked after breakfast.

"Thank you Joe. If only my husband would offer to help with the dishes." Kari tossed him a dishtowel.

"Yeah. You have to force him to wash them." Said Patamon.

"And even when he does, he only does them halfway." Added Gatomon.

"But he's gotten better. It just took a little training." Kari defended.

"Kari, you're the only girl I know who trains her husband to wash dishes." Joe dried a pan.

"You must not know very many girls." Kari finished wiping the counters.

"So. Are you ready for your checkup?"

"But you aren't an obstetrician!"

"I know, but I promised TK." Joe got a stethoscope out of his bag. He put it to Kari's heart. "Your heartbeat is a little fast, but that's normal at this point." He guided it downward to her stomach. "The baby's, however, is perfect. Right where we want it to be." He put the stethoscope back. "Now," he said, "Report!"

"My morning sickness is gone, and I've been gaining about a pound a week."

Joe nodded. "Both normal for the second trimester. Have you been exercising?"

"Yep. I take a walk every afternoon, and go to the pool at my gym twice a week."

"Good, good. Leg cramps?"

"Not yet."

"Okay, just be aware that they may start soon. And don't forget that, even though you may not feel as tired, you should still get plenty of rest."

"You sound just like TK."

"That's because he constantly calls me with questions."

Kari looked thoughtful. "He should be calling Dr. Greystone."

"Yeah. I don't know why he doesn't like her. She's one of the best in her field."

"Well, I don't think it's her skills that makes him, er, uncomfortable."

"Oh, the personality thing. Yeah, it gets a lot of new dads. But she is really good in the delivery room, and they never regret choosing her as an obstetrician."

"It's so funny, though. He tries so hard to pretend to like her. I swear, it's a good thing the water in that water jug is free, or we'd be broke right now."

"Ah, yes. The old 'let's get a drink' routine. A classic." He stopped talking to watch Gatomon roll her egg into the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" Kari asked.

"Giving my egg a bath." She answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Eggs need baths?"

"They do when their father decides eat a Popsicle while egg-sitting."

"So it dripped. I was hungry. Is that a crime?" Patamon said.

"It is when you use our egg as a napkin."

"Better the egg than my carpet." Kari whispered to Joe. Luckily, Gatomon didn't hear.

"So have you picked out a name yet?"

"Well, Cody suggested Nori, as you know, and I really like that name. The other one I like is Naoko."

"Hmm. Nori Takashi. Naoko Takashi. A pretty hard decision, if you ask me."

"Yeah, well, we've got until February to figure it out."

"That may come sooner than you think. Time flies. When's your due date?"

"February 25th."

"See? It's near the end of October now. Just four months. You've started getting ready, haven't you?"

"Oh yeah. We have all the furniture and stuff for the baby's room. In fact, we are kind of in the middle of painting the extra room right now."

"I hope that when you say 'we' you mean 'TK.'"

"Yep."

"Good. It's not good for you to be inhaling paint fumes." He and Kari talked a bit more about the baby. In the afternoon Kari decided to make her favorite orange flavored cookies. Unfortunately, she didn't have any oranges, so she told Joe that she was going to the store. After grabbing her keys, she walked out the door. And right into Yolei.

"Oof." Said Yolei as the two collided. "Woah, I'm sorry, Kari. Are you all right?"

"Uh, yeah. What are you guys doing here? Come in." Kari led Yolei and Ken in.

"Back so soon?" Joe joked, turning off the TV.

"My wife doesn't know the meaning of the phrase, 'calling first.'" Ken sat down.

"Well it's not like I planned on coming here." Yolei looked at Kari. "I had to tell you the big news. I'm pregnant!"

"Really? Aaah! This is so exciting! We'll be pregnant together!" Kari had sat down when she came in, only to jump up now.

"And we'll raise our kids together!"

"They'll be best friends!" Kari and Yolei went on squealing about what a 'happily ever after' they will have with their kids.

Ken looked at Joe. "Women are so loud."

Joe nodded. "And high-pitched."

When the girls finally settled down, Kari interrogated the couple, but they had just found out themselves. So Joe proposed that they go out to a local ice cream shop a few blocks away. Of course, they couldn't take the car; they had to walk. But luckily, the ice cream made up for it, and Joe bought. Ken and Yolei left after they were back home, and Joe started to get ready for the night shift. Izzy showed up just in time for a quick dinner before Joe left.

"So Kari," Izzy said as he locked the door behind Joe, "How are the digimon? I want to do an analysis of that egg." Kari led Izzy to the digimon's 'house,' thinking how much Joe and Izzy were alike. _They're both smart and they both bring their work home with them._

Gatomon was not very happy with Izzy studying her baby. She had been very territorial toward her egg ever since it had come. 'Instinct,' Izzy called it, but whatever it was, Gatomon seemed to have an excessive amount of it.

Kari went to bed early, due to TK's orders. She fought with Izzy because he wanted her to sleep in her own bed, while she -being the gracious hostess that she is- insisted that she could sleep on the couch. But Izzy finally convinced her that he'd be more comfortable on the couch, so she dropped the subject.

Joe was much more tired the next day because of a huge high school party. According to Joe, somebody had spiked the punch, and there had been drag racing after. The very busy night left him napping most of the day, so Kari headed to the gym, partly for a little exercise, and partly to get out of the house.

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful, basically Kari doing boring indoor stuff. Except for Thursday night.

Izzy was working on Kari's computer, which he complained was much too slow, when the screen started to glow a bright blue color and let off a high-pitched whistling noise.

"What the heck?" Izzy exclaimed. He had never seen anything like this before.

"Well, it's about time!" Gatomon exclaimed, jumping up onto the desk. The screen suddenly turned white, and spat out what looked like a digivice and a tag into Gatomon's paw. She jumped off the desk and ran for Kari's room. Izzy followed, enthralled.

"Gatomon, what-" Kari, who had been reading in bed, was cut off as Gatomon jumped onto her stomach, throwing up her pajama top. "Excuse me!" She exclaimed, but Gatomon ignored her. The cat digimon pressed the digivice on her swelled abdomen firmly. The warm digivice glowed, and Gatomon took it and ran off into the hall, Izzy and Kari right on her tail.

Gatomon rushed into her room and into the rookery. Patamon and the others watched curiously as Gatomon pressed the digivice onto the egg, just as she had Kari. It glowed again, and out of its screen floated a crest. It hovered in the air. Gatomon raised the tag, and the crest flew into it. Gatomon relaxed, and gave the tag, crest, and digivice to Kari.

Kari studied the new mechanisms, as if the events were perfectly normal. She felt a slight curiosity nagging at her, asking a thousand questions, but she ignored it. She felt that there was something she had to figure out first. She looked deep into the crest, with Gatomon waiting patiently. The boys watched this whole ordeal feeling like the new kids at school, not knowing what was going on. Finally Kari looked up and said, "Achievement," and handed it back to Gatomon. Her partner smiled and set the devices in the rookery next to the egg.

"Achievement? What about achievement?" Izzy asked.

"It's the crest of achievement." Kari explained.

"How do you know?"

"I have no idea. I just know."

Izzy nodded as if it made perfect sense. "Instinct," he said.

Gatomon shook her head. "I don't like that word. Call it mother's intuition."

Izzy rolled his eyes. "Fine. Mother's intuition." He thought. "Well. Hope plus Light equals Achievement. Interesting."

"Oh, so now we're a math problem." Gatomon complained.

"You don't like to be compared to anything, do you? You insist to 'emit' an egg so you don't sound like a chicken. You build a 'rookery' claiming that you aren't a bird. And now you use 'mother's intuition' because you don't want to sound like…sound like…"

"An animal." Gatomon supplied.

"Sound like an animal! Why are you making this so complicated?"

"Well, _Koushiro_," Gatomon said, "it's because, in case you haven't noticed, I am _not_ a chicken, a bird, or an animal. I am a digimon. There aren't any terms for digimon yet, and somebody has to make some up."

Izzy threw up his hands in defeat and walked out of the room to enter all the new information onto his computer.

"I can't believe Pookie missed that!" Patamon said.


	10. Shopping and Christmas presents

"TK! TK, quick, come here!" Kari yelled from the couch a month later.

"What? What is it?"

"It's happening again!"

"Let me feel!" TK put his hand to Kari's stomach.

"Did you feel that?" asked Kari excitedly.

TK shook his head. "No. I guess he's still not strong enough."

"Well, give him time. You'll be able to feel it soon, I'm sure."

"Hopefully. You going shopping today?"

"Yep." Kari said.

Mimi had invited Kari to shopping today, so TK had taken this opportunity to go and see a movie with Davis to get out of the house. And speaking of Davis…

_Ding dong!_

"Oh. There he is now." TK let his friend in.

"Hi TK. Hey Kari. Whoa, gettin' kinda big there, huh?"

"Well I _am_ pregnant."

"Oh yeah. Sorry. All I can think about is this movie today."

"That's because the capacity of his head only lets him concentrate on one thing at a time." TK joked.

"No, it's because your wife looks so good I totally forgot she was pregnant."

"Uh huh. Hence the 'gettin' kinda big' comment."

"Right. You got it. Now let's go, we'll be late!"

"Have fun, _kids_." Kari mocked and closed the door. _Where is Mimi? She should've been here by now. _Nori hiccuped. _Oh, sure, _now_ he moves. Come on, Mimi. _The doorbell rang. _That was fast._

"Hi, Kari!" Mimi cried when Kari opened the door. "Sorry I'm late, but my car broke down. Fortunately, it was right in front of Izzy's apartment, so I popped in and he agreed to drive me here… Are you okay?"

It took a minute for Kari to sort out what Mimi had said. Mimi could talk _fast_. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

"You just twitched."

"Oh, right." Kari motioned toward her stomach. "Baby hiccups."

"Let me feel!" Kari laid down on her couch again and pulled her shirt up over her swollen belly and Mimi put her hand on her abdomen.

Izzy walked in with his laptop and suddenly felt quite awkward at the sight of this. "Uh…I just came to see how the digimon were doing, so I'll just go to their room now…" he kind of edged out of the room uncomfortably.

Kari smiled, amused. "What's he so jumpy about? It's not like my shirt was off or anything…"

"Poor Izzy is still afraid of girls." Mimi joked. "Oh! I felt it!" she said as the baby hiccuped again.

"Well at least someone can."

"What do you mean?" Mimi sat down on a chair.

"TK still hasn't gotten to feel it. It's so weird. The baby must be nocturnal or something, because he does all the major moving around at night. During the day, I'm lucky if he rolls over in his sleep."

"Why haven't you woken TK up? Feeling your baby kick is important."

"I know, but he's been really swamped at work lately. He comes home exhausted, and I don't have the heart to wake him up at three in the morning. I try to call him over during the day to feel it, but Nori always stops when TK gets over there. So now TK thinks that Nori's still too little to be felt on the outside, even though I know that's not true."

"Wow. Too bad."

"KARI!!!" Gatomon came running into the room, furious.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"He wanted to take the digivice and crest!" Gatomon spat.

"I just wanted to study it!" Izzy defended. "See if it differed any from ours. You know, take it home for the weekend, then bring it back! I didn't mean any harm."

"Shut it, Pudge-boy!"

"Pudge-boy?" Izzy was anything but.

"You call yourself a digimon researcher! You obviously don't know that having the digivice and crest near the egg is vital to its development from now on."

"Really?" Izzy was writing furiously on a pad of paper.

"Yes. You take them away, and both Kari's baby and mine are in grave danger."

"Goodness." Kari muttered. "I had no idea."

"Apparently, neither did Computer Nerd." Gatomon stomped out of the room.

"I'm sorry Kari." Izzy apologized, "I-"

"No big deal, Izzy. You didn't know."

"Less talking, more shopping." Mimi stood up.

"We can't. TK took the car." Kari grumbled. "Why they didn't take Davis's car, I have no idea…"

"Oh, no!" Mimi wailed. "Whatever shall we do? Who in this cold, heartless world could ever give us a lift to the mall?" She looked hopefully at Izzy.

"No way. I have things to do." Mimi puffed out her lower lip.

"No." Mimi put on her sad puppy-dog eyes.

"But I can't…" Izzy got eyelash batting this time.

"My plans…" Whimpers, and Mimi genuinely looked like she was going to cry. "Oh fine!" He gave in.

"Perfect! Thank you, Izzy." Mimi's unhappy disposition suddenly disappeared. "I found this great store the other day…" Mimi chatted while she and Kari walked toward the door. Izzy sighed and followed.

Mimi took Kari to a Maternity store. "Everyone tells me about how maternity clothes are so ugly." She said. "So I found you one with all the latest styles!"

"It's so expensive…" Kari glanced at a few price tags.

"I'll buy you something. Counts toward your Christmas present, though."

"You really don't have to."

"Kari, I've seen what you call maternity clothes. And believe me, you need help."

Kari looked down. A baggy white maternity shirt and black elastic waistband pants. She couldn't deny it. She looked… bad.

"How about this?" Mimi held up a pair of hip hugger pants that looked like they were made for an elephant. Kari knew that if Tai and Matt ever got hold of it, they'd be able to fit three, maybe four, of them in it.

"How on earth can I wear hip huggers when I don't have any hips?"

"Hmm. Good point. Okay, here. And you can lend it to me if I ever get pregnant." She handed Kari a bright pink blouse that Kari needed sunglasses to look at.

"It's so… pink."

"You're right. You'll never be able to pull it off." Mimi put it back on the shelf. "Wait a minute. I'm getting an idea! Yes!" She ran off, Kari and Izzy hurrying behind her. "Formalwear!" Mimi cried when she got to the racks.

"They make formal maternity clothes?"

"Of course! Come on, admit it. You want something nice to wear to all those Christmas parties, don't you? To impress TK?"

"I'd probably only be able to wear it once or twice. I'll be seven months pregnant at the end of this month."

"Which means you'll have two months to wear it."

"Exactly!"

"But what about Valentine's Day? And New Year's Eve? Are you just going to wear jeans and a shirt?"

"Well…" Kari hadn't thought about this.

"Here, try this on." After about a thousand dresses, the girls made their purchases and dragged poor Izzy from store to store, carrying bags.

"My feet hurt." Mimi complained. "Which could either be a sign that I'm wearing the wrong shoes, or our little shopping spree is drawing to a close." They walked to the car. "Home, James." She ordered Izzy, and got grumbles as a reply.

TK had Christmas Eve off, and he and Kari seized this opportunity to enjoy themselves. They went to a Christmas party on the 24th, and TK was surprised at the magnificent dress that Mimi had bought for Kari. It was a long black dress that Mimi had described as 'very slimming.'

They had fun at the party. They danced and ate, and TK thought he was the luckiest guy in the world. There was alcohol there, but of course Kari couldn't have any. TK, like the sweet husband he is, refused it as well, not even a small glass of wine. In fact, they were one of the only couples that didn't drink. TK suggested they leave when he sensed that the party was going to get out of hand.

So they left at nine and were in bed by ten. TK also knew that Kari was having trouble sleeping because of leg cramps. TK, still worn out from work and all that dancing, fell asleep right away. Kari, however, slipped in and out of consciousness, dreaming of her new son and his future.

She officially woke up when Nori started moving around. She put her hand on her stomach. It was so _weird_, feeling him inside and out. She glanced at the digital clock. 11:57. Then she gazed at her sleeping husband. TK was breathing deeply, looking peaceful. Every once in a while, a muscle would twitch, and Kari wondered what he was dreaming about. The clock changed to twelve o'clock. Midnight.

Kari looked at TK's hand, on the pillow just half a foot away from her face. She gently picked it up and bought it to her lips.

"Honey?" TK murmered, eyes sliding open sleepily. But what he was thinking was, _Why is she waking me up in the middle of the night?_

"Shh," was all Kari said as she kissed his hand softly. (How she managed to do both at the same time, I have no idea.) Then she guided his hand down to where Nori was kicking.

Even though it was dark, Kari could see TK's face light up, suddenly more awake.

"Is he…?"

"Merry Christmas." Kari slid over to her love and put her face against his chest. They cuddled until Kari's breathing told TK that she was asleep, Nori kicking in between them all the while.

_Marrying her was the best thing that ever happened to me. _TK thought as he, too, drifted off. _I definitely got the better half of this deal._


	11. Tai's chapter

Hah-HA! Bet you weren't expecting me to update so soon, were you? A big thanks to Vigatus, who gave me the idea for this chapter.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Tai, I'm on maternity leave. It's not like I have a fever or anything. I'm only eight months pregnant." Kari did not think this was a big deal.

Tai did. "_Only_ eight months pregnant?"

"Tai relax. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, I know. Well, nice talking to you." Tai hung up the phone. Kari had called almost an hour ago. Tai felt like a teenager, talking that long, but it _was_ his sister. His eight-month pregnant sister. The sister who, in less than two months, would also be a mother.

_Whoa_. Tai thought. Less than two months. There, at that moment, Tai was blown away. It was as if it took all of eight months to finally sink in. _My little sister can't have a baby! She's just a baby herself!_ But she wasn't, and Tai knew it. She could take care of herself. Right? But… what if something went wrong? Who would be there to take care of her? TK was at work, and Gatomon and Patamon had their own responsibilities with that egg. Tai's mind wandered to stories he had heard about mothers who had given birth early. _Oh my god! _Tai panicked. _What if she goes into labor right this minute? _He grabbed the cordless phone and rushed into his room so as not to disturb Matt, who had drifted off on the couch. He dialed the number from memory and waited impatiently as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Kari? It's Tai."

"Tai? I just got off the phone with you."

"I know, but I was just wondering if you've felt any labor pains yet?"

"Only a Braxton-Hicks contraction last night. Why? My due date isn't for another month and a half."

"People can go into labor early!"

"Tai, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay. Call me." Tai hung up and went back into the living room. He glanced at the TV, which had been turned on mute after Kari called the first time, but there were subtitles at the bottom so Matt could read them while Tai was talking. Tai kept the sound down and let Matt sleep. General Hospital was on, and apparently the doctors and nurses had just delivered a baby with Down's Syndrome.

_Oh my god!_ Tai thought again and leapt off the couch and rushed into his room.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kari. It's me again."

"What's up?"

"I was just thinking. What if your baby has Down's Syndrome?"

"Tai, I had a test for that way back in July. It was negative, remember?"

"Oh yeah. But what if it was wrong?"

"Tai, you've seen Nori for yourself. He's perfectly healthy."

"Yeah, you're right. No labor pains yet?"

"No Tai. Bye."

"Bye." The phone beeped as Tai turned it off.

"Tai?" Augumon was standing in the doorway. "Have you seen our soccer ball? Gabumon and I want to play in the backyard."

"Uh, hang on." Tai flopped onto the floor and looked under the bed. "Here you go, buddy." He handed the miniature soccer ball to his friend. That's when he noticed a book that had been shoved under his bed a few months ago. He wiped the dust off and realized that it was a book about aliens, from when he was in his 'paranormal kick.'

_Oh my god! _Tai thought, and scrambled back onto his bed.

"Hello?"

"Kari!"

"What is it _now, _Tai?"

"Are you sure the baby's TK's?"

"WHAT? I can't believe you're accusing me of cheating!"

"I'm not! Did you know that aliens abduct women, and then fertilize one of their eggs? You don't have any periods of time where you don't know where you were or what you were doing, do you?"

"Okay, now you're getting a little paranoid, Tai."

"Maybe you're right."

"I _am_ right."

"Okay. Any contractions?"

"No. Goodbye, Tai."

"See ya." Hang up. Redial.

"Kari, if a crazy madman broke into your house right this minute and demanded three potholders and a glass of milk, you'd call me, right?"

"TAI!"

"Okay, okay. I am going a _little_ overboard. Sorry."

"It's all right."

"Any pains?"

"Besides the one calling me every three minutes?"

"Ha ha." They hung up again.

Tai sighed. Kari had grown up, no matter how hard it was to accept. She had a husband, a house, a career, and now, a baby on the way. And what did he have? A girlfriend, a bachelor pad, and a roommate. And he was older, for crying out loud! He should have gone through this birth thing already. That way, at least Kari wouldn't have to go through it alone.

_But she's not alone! _Tai realized. _She's got TK._ And she would always have TK. She couldn't have chosen anyone better. Tai smiled at the wonderful decision his sister had made. She was so…responsible. Tai looked around the room. Matt's bed, as well as his side of the room, were spotless. Tai's side looked like a hurricane had hit it. He wandered out into the family room again. Tai's clothes…Tai's magazines…Tai's junk…but nothing of Matt's. Tai looked at him, conked out on the couch. Poor Matt. Finishing up college and a part time job were really taking their toll on him. He looked exhausted.

Why the heck was he sticking around here? With all the extra hours he put in at his job, Tai guessed that Matt probably had enough money for a down payment on a house by now. Then Tai realized, _It's because of _me. Tai could never manage on his own with how much money he was making now. Suddenly something clicked. Tai rummaged through Matt's desk, searching. He took out last month's bill for the rent. _Whoa, hang on! That's more than I'm paying! That's more than I can _afford!_ Matt's paying much more than half! We agreed on a 50/50 deal!_ So Matt had been carrying more than his weight, but for how long? A month? A _year_? It was too much to take. Thoughts and worries swirled around him. Kari…Sora…Matt…the bills…Nori…why?

Tai ran over to his friend and shook him awake. "Matt!" he cried, "What's this?!" Matt's eyes widened when saw the bills. "Why did you do this?!" Demanded Tai, breathing hard.

Matt looked deep into Tai's eyes and said truthfully, "It's what you needed."

Tears welled up in Tai's eyes as he stood there for a moment. Then he let it all go and embraced his best friend in the entire world.

It was time to grow up.

* * *

Ahem. Thanks again to Vigatus for this idea, and thanks to Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott, the illustrators of the Baby Blues comic strip, for the 'any pains?' pun.

And while I admit that the last couple chapters took a long time to write, get ready for more because this is where it gets fun…


	12. Valentine's Day

"Don't you just _love _the ninth month?" TK asked with a false cheerfulness. "We get to visit Dr. Greystone almost _every day_!"

"TK! Not here!" TK and Kari were in the doctor's office, waiting for Dr. Greystone to see them.

TK folded his arms, muttering to himself. The baby wasn't due for another week and a half. Was it really nessecary for him to be at every appointment? But then, he had to be at this one so that he could take Kari out to dinner afterward. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of their obstetrician.

"Good afternoon, people! I hope you're having a nice, cold Valentine's Day!"

"Uh, yeah." Nice, _cold _Valentine's Day? TK had never heard that one before.

"So any special plans for tonight?"

"No." Kari sighed. "TK thinks I should take it easy."

"On your last Valentine's Day with just the two of you? What a horrible husband!" Dr. Greystone looked at TK in distaste.

_She thinks she knows everything. _"Well, for your information, I have a surprise planned for Kari tonight." TK boasted.

"You do?" Kari looked hopeful.

TK slapped his forehead. _I wasn't supposed to tell her that! How do I cover it up? Um…um… _TK thought fast. "Water! I know the way!" He rushed out of the room.

"Thirty seconds." Kari checked her watch. "A new record."

"Yep." Said Dr. Greystone, unconcerned. "So tell me, Kari. Are you ready to have this baby?"

"Yes!" The anxiety had been building up for weeks now. "I am so tired of being fat!"

"Well it won't be long now." Dr. Greystone pulled out a stethoscope and began checking heartbeats. "Another week or two, I'd say. Right on time." TK came in about that time. "Ah, Mr. Takashi. Thank you for joining us. You have your bags packed?"

"Yes."

"Been practicing your breathing exercises?"

"Yes."

"Good." Dr. Greystone finished taking Kari's temperature. "Now, if you don't have any new questions…"

"Not since yesterday." TK answered.

"Okay. Everything checks out. I'll see you tomorrow. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Bye." Kari climbed into the car. "Now see? That wasn't so bad."

"Wasn't so bad? Every day she finds new ways to annoy me! Just last week she pointed out to three of her nurses that I was wearing two differently colored socks."

"Dear, that was your fault."

"Even so! And now she's ruined your Valentine's Day surprise."

"That was your fault too. You let it slip. Besides, it's still kind of a surprise. I don't know where we're going."

"You aren't supposed to know that we're going anywhere at all." TK slowed down, creeping up a hill.

"Well now that I do, will you tell me?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"Wait. We're going now?"

"Yep. I have reservations."

"Early reservations, apparently. Wow. There's a lot of traffic today."

"Yep."

"I don't even get to change clothes?" Kari asked as TK started down the hill.

"Nope."

"But I look like a- TK! Look out!" TK slammed on the brakes just in time to miss the car in front of them. Kari jerked forward as the car stopped. Then she jerked forward again.

And all time stopped.

* * *

Ten miles away, Gatomon suddenly sat straight upright, stiff as a board. 

"Soon." She hissed.

* * *

Kari felt the seatbelt tighten against her chest as she was flung back against her seat again. 

"Oh my god! Kari! Are you all right?" TK shouted in her ear.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. What happened?" Kari caught her breath.

"It looks like a bumper-to-bumper pile up. Someone up there stopped, and the car behind it couldn't stop in time. And then the car behind it couldn't. A chain reaction. I was far enough away from that guy that we didn't hit him. We got hit in the rear, though. Just a fender-bender, I think. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes."

"Maybe we'd better go back to Dr. Greystone…"

"I never thought I'd hear you say that. But really, I'm fine."

"All right." TK let it go once he heard that his wife still had her sense of humor. As it turned out, TK had early reservations so that they could catch a movie after dinner and still get Kari home before it got too late.

TK thought it was a good date. Kari gasped and squeezed his hand during a preview for a horror movie and they kissed during the mushy parts. In fact, TK didn't even suspect anything was wrong until Kari gasped again and held her stomach on the way out of the theater.

"Kari! You're having a contraction, aren't you?"

"I think so."

"Come on. We're going to the hospital."

"TK, they're over an hour apart. We don't have to go until my contractions are-"

"I don't care! After that accident today, what if something goes wrong?"

"But TK-"

"No. We're going. _Now_." And with that he sped off to the hospital.

Dr. Greystone was waiting there for them. Somehow, in his rush, TK managed to call ahead.

"Now," said Dr. Greystone, helping Kari into a wheelchair, "tell me what happened."

TK explained (in great detail) what had happened that afternoon. "It was just a little fender-bender!" He finished.

"Little as it might have been," Dr. Greystone ran a few tests, "Something still could've gone wrong. Luckily, nothing did. Just started the labor a little early. It's good that you brought her in."

TK looked at Kari as if to say, 'I told you so.' "Now what?"

"Now we wait. There's no sense in you going home, just to bring her back here." Dr. Greystone shrugged.

"Excuse me. 'Her' has a name!"

Dr. Greystone smiled. "Sorry, Kari. Okay, I need you to put this on and relax in room 330. It's going to be a long night." She gave Kari a hospital gown and left.

"TK," Kari turned to her husband, "I need you to call Matt and Tai. Tell them to stop by the house and pick up my bags. Oh, and tell them to tell Patamon and Gatomon what's happening."

"How will they get inside? I locked the doors."

"They have a key."

"They do?"

"Yes. After you do that, call the digidestined and tell them what's happening. Tell them that I'm going to be here a while, but if they insist on coming, tell them that they can drop off their digimon at our house before they come here."

"How will _they _get in?"

"They have keys too."

"Okay, so first everyone has a key to Matt and Tai's house, and now everyone has a key to our house?"

"Yeah."

"Do you realize that if one of our friends was a robber, we'd all be screwed?"

"TK!"

"I'm going, I'm going." He took his cell phone out into the hallway.

* * *

"Hello, this is Tai," Tai strained to hear over the crowded restaurant, "Oh, hey TK… She is?…What?… Car accident!… Yes, I can…Okay. See ya in a few." He hung up. "Oh my god, my sister's in labor!" He ran out of the cafe, leaving a confused Sora behind. Then he remembered and ran back in. "Sorry, honey. Check please!"

* * *

Izzy unlocked the Takashi's door. He and Tentomon met Augumon in the hallway. 

"How's the egg?" Izzy asked him as Mimi walked through the door without having to unlock it.

"Fine. Come see." Augumon replied. Mimi said goodbye to Palamon and looked up at Izzy uncertainly.

"Izzy, Kari's in labor." She told him.

"I know."

"Come on, Izzy! This is vital to your research." Tentomon said.

"I know!" He looked at Tentomon, then at Mimi, then at Tentomon again. He got out his pad of paper. "Take notes!" He tossed the pad to Tentomon. "Kari's more important."

"Well that's just great." Tentomon said as the door slammed shut. "I don't even have fingers."

"Heck, I don't think you even have hands!" Augumon said, and he leaded Tentomon into the digimon's room.


	13. The hospital, part one

These next two chapters origanally started out as one, but it was getting way too long, so I split them up. The good news is that now I'm almost done with the next one, so it should be up later today.

* * *

"They're all coming." TK said. 

"Oh, no," said Kari, fiddling with her bed sheets, "All of them?"

"Yep."

"They don't have to come. I mean, it's Valentine's Day! They should be out at dinner, or at the movies…"

"Actually, some of them were happy to come. You saved them from Singles Awareness Day."

"But this baby isn't coming anytime soon. It's going to be a long wait."

"Honey," TK comforted, "Nothing could keep them away. We're connected with a strong bond, stronger than friendship, both physically and emotionally." Kari stared. "Um, Izzy said that. But he's right. Kari, you didn't force them to come. They _chose_ to come. Stop being so polite!"

Kari nodded. "You're right. Did Tai bring my stuff?"

"Yeah, he's the only one here. Oh, and Sora. She's here too. And they're practically threatening me with knives to let me come in and see you."

"Okay, let them in." Kari laughed. TK opened the door and was almost trampled by a two-person stampede.

"Kari! You're alive!" Tai cried, throwing himself on the bed.

"Of course." Kari said with a confused look. What goes through Tai's head? Then she thought about the time he thought of the time he accused her of being abducted by aliens, and decided that she didn't want to know.

"Tai was worried." Sora said, but Kari could tell from her voice that Sora had been concerned as well. "He almost left me at the restaurant when he heard about the accident."

"Hey, better at the restaurant than at the alter!" Tai defended. Kari raised her eyebrows. "Oh, come on, don't act so surprised! You know I was going to propose tonight."

"She said yes?"

"Yep." Tai got up and went to stand by Sora.

"Oh, Tai, that's _fantastic!"_

"You finally gave in, huh?" TK joked to Sora, who nodded happily.

"Gave in? She didn't have to _give in!_ She was happy to do it! And who wouldn't be, with a guy like me?"

"You mean, a guy whose ego is as big as his hair?" Sora teased.

"Oh, that's really cute. Did you make that up yourself?"

"No. It's been a running joke with us for years."

"Howdy kids." Dr. Greystone said, squeezing her way through Tai, Sora, and TK in the tiny room. "Check up time." After hooking Kari up to the right machines, she sighed and turned toward the others. "Kari needs to sleep now, because she won't get much rest later. Out!" She pushed the three of them out the door.

"Now wait a minute!" TK protested. "That's my wife in there! You can't just keep me out!"

"Oh yes I can! She needs her sleep. You'd just keep her awake."

"No I wouldn't. Come on, I'm her husband! I'm supposed to stay with her, hold her hand when she has contractions, bring her ice chips when she gets thirsty…"

"Someone's been watching to much TV."

"I have _not!_ Please, just let me stay with Kari."

"Fine." Dr. Greystone spat, obviously not happy to give in. "But you'd better let her rest!" TK triumphantly went back in.

"What now?" Sora asked as Dr. Greystone left.

"What do you mean, what now? Now we wait for the fireworks to start." Tai answered.

"Fireworks?"

"Yep. In case you didn't notice, there are six chairs here, and ten people who are coming."

"Uh oh."

* * *

"Hey! Hawkmon, Wormon! Welcome to the party!" Veemon said as the two walked in. "Oh! And you brought Junior!" He continued as they wheeled in a stroller containing a green and red spotted egg. 

"Yeah."

"Well, just bring him in here. The girls will watch him."

"We will _not!_"

Veemon looked at Palamon, Gatomon, and Biomon sadly. "Please?"

"No."

"I'll bring you chocolate..."

"Oooh!" Squealed Gatomon.

"Gatomon!" Biomon said.

"Oops. I meant no."

"Here. Watch this." Hawkmon said, firmly pushing Veemon out of the way. "Gatomon, don't think of it as egg-sitting. Think of it as a play date." He took his egg out of the stroller and set it down next to the rookery. With no means of support, the egg wobbled and came to rest on one of the sides of the rookery. "See?" Hawkmon beamed, "They're friends already!"

"Awww!" Gatomon said, "They look so cute together! Well, I guess they could play for a while."

"Amateur." Hawkmon muttered to Veemon.

"So Wormon, how does this whole egg thing work out with you guys?" Palamon wondered, completely changing the subject.

"What do you mean?"

"You're both guys."

"So?"

"So how does it work?"

"It works the same as usual."

"But the egg...neither of you could..." Palamon said, frustrated. This was going nowhere.

"Could what? The egg came out of the computer."

"Oh."

"If you're quite finished," Said Veemon impatiently, "The boys are thirsty!" And with that he led them out toward the other boys and got them a root beer.

"Something tells me they're not coming back."

* * *

"Hey! Davis!" Cody said as the young man in goggles came in. 

"Hi guys. How's Kari?"

"Fine." Said Tai.

"I talked to Dr. Greystone, though, and she said that Kari won't be ready to have this baby until morning, at least." Joe added.

"Well I guess we have to get comfortable...Hey! There are no chairs left!"

"Um, yeah. We had kind of a 'first come, first serve' deal worked out." Ken said.

"And we just happened to come first. So that means you get the floor." Remarked Yolei, who was five months along.

Davis grumbled and slid to the floor. "Why are there only six chairs anyway?"

"Because this is a private waiting room, and the nicest labor room in the whole hospital. Usually we just use it for the people who need to be very comfortable. I pulled some strings to make sure Kari got put here." Joe replied.

"Well you should've pulled them harder! I want a chair!"

"Prodigious!" Izzy said as he and Mimi came in. "I _knew_ you guys were in this room. How, you ask? Because we could hear Davis's whining all the way down the hall."

"It's true." Mimi said.

"That's because there aren't any chairs left!"

"No!" Cried Mimi.

"Are you kidding?" Said Izzy, to everyone's surprise. He left the room and came back with a pillow. "If you have to spend the night at a hospital, the floor's the best place to be!" He propped the pillow on a wall and made himself comfortable.

"Now _he _the right idea!" Mimi exclaimed, and went off to find a pillow for herself.

TK came out of the room. "Hey guys!"

"Hey TK! How's Kari?"

"Asleep and well. Labor must be exhausting. She's barely had three contractions, and now she's out like a light."

"Take it from me, pregnancy can be pretty draining all by itself." Said Ken, and after a thought he added, "It's pretty hard on Yolei, too."

"Is everyone here?" TK asked.

"Everyone except Matt." Tai said.

"Hey, yeah," Mimi looked around, "Where is he? I thought he'd be one of the first ones over here, what with his sister-in-law about to deliver his nephew and all."

The color left TK's face. "Oh, crap. I forgot to call him. I'm so used to reaching Tai and Matt at the same time, I called one and automatically assumed the other would be there too. Oh, man, he's gonna _kill _me!" And he rushed out of the room to call his brother.

* * *

"Toss it here, Patamon! I'm open!" 

"No! You're clear! Go for it!" Patamon faked left, then went right, and ran straight through the imaginary goal line. His team cheered and he spiked the foam football. In the background, the crowd cheered at the game going on at the television.

"What is going on?" Gatomon's voice rang over the noise. The boys fell silent, and someone muted the TV.

"Oh, heh heh, hi honey." Patamon stuttered nervously, glancing around at the mess in the living room and hoping that she wouldn't notice.

"Don't you 'hi honey' me. Do you have any idea how much noise you're making? And look at this place!"

"You are right, Gatomon." Augumon said seriously, "We were having _entirely _to much fun."

"Don't _tell _me, tubby. Fix it. You're keeping the eggs awake."

"The eggs _sleep?_"

"Well, obviously not now!"

"It's okay." Patamon assured her. "We'll take care of it."

"Yeah." Gammon agreed. "You can go back to knitting, or whatever you girls are doing."

"Knitting?! Okay, whatever, just keep it down." She walked out. "And clean this place up!"

"Man," said Gabumon, "I am _never_ getting married."

* * *

Sorry, Lord Pata, not yet. 

Meep No Meep- of course you can use my idea. Just let me know what it's called so I can read it. : )


	14. The hospital, part two

"I can't believe you didn't call me!" Matt yelled. "Kari's in labor and you didn't call me!"

"Um, I forgot?"

"Oh, come on. You're wife is in labor. You probably called everyone you could think of. And that list apparently doesn't include ME! Your one and only brother."

"I'm sorry Matt."

"Who taught you to ride a bike?"

"Oh, no, please don't start this..."

"Answer the question!"

"You did, Matt." TK said submissively.

"Who cleaned up your cuts and scrapes?"

"You did, Matt."

"Who changed your diapers?"

"You did, Matt." TK was quite red now, as a chuckle ran through the audience of digidestined.

"And who drove you to basketball practice and back when you were fourteen?"

"Um, actually that was Tai."

"Oh yeah. But the point is, who has always been there for you?"

"You have, Matt."

"And you don't even have enough heart to call me on the most important night of your life!"

"I forgot, Matt."

"I could've got a _chair!_" Matt yelled.

"Matt, Kari is sleeping in the next room..." Matt looked suddenly worried and glanced at the door.

"Actually, you'd be surprised at how soundproof these walls are." Joe cut in.

"You're not helping." TK informed him.

"No, it's okay. I think I'm done." Matt took a seat on the floor and helped himself to a soda.

* * *

"Did you get them to quiet down?" Palamon asked as Gatomon came back in. 

"Sure did. The old 'eggs are trying to sleep' trick. They are _so _gullible."

"I'm beginning to understand why you don't like them to drink root beer."

"Yep. It makes them do crazy things."

* * *

"Mimi, are you okay? You look kind of pale." Sara asked her friend worriedly. 

"Oh, yeah. I think I have the flu. I didn't get my shot this year."

"Oops. I forgot to get mine too. I was too busy dragging Tai down to get his." She glared at him.

"What? I have a thing for needles." Tai defended. "I mean, come on! It's not that uncommon. I just can't stand the sight of it, filled with some unknown liquid, piercing its venomous point into your bare skin..." He shuddered. "Can't you just picture it?"

Apparently Mimi could, for she suddenly turned green and dashed out of the room, right past Dr. Greystone. "Is she okay?" The doctor asked, walking into the room.

"She has the flu." Sora said matter-of-factly.

"The flu? Really?" The doctor said thoughtfully. "Okay, chaps, here's the deal. I'm gonna go check on Kari, so you've got to be quiet for about three seconds while I open the door. Can you do that for me?" Everyone stared. "Wonderful!" And she slipped into the room.

"Remind me again why we chose her as our obstetrician?" Ken asked his wife.

"Ken, if you can answer that question," TK shook his head, "Then you truly are a good detective."

"Oh, come on! She isn't that bad!" Yolei objected.

"Yes she is."

"You guys!" Cody cut in. "Dr. Greystone is one of Joe's colleagues! You can't just go insulting her with him around!"

"No, no, it's okay. I am totally deaf to this entire conversation." Joe hid behind a magazine.

Mimi slinked back in, still looking pale.

"Mimi! Are you all right?" Davis, who was closest to the door, asked.

"Just a headache..." She muttered.

"Maybe you'd better go home." Joe said.

"No, I'm fine."

Dr. Greystone walked out. "Oh, my dear," She said, walking over toward Mimi, "Your friends told me that you had the flu. I have some medicine that would help. Are you interested?" Mimi nodded gratefully and Dr. Greystone led her out of the room saying, "You know, I had the flu myself a few weeks ago..."

"Poor Mimi." Said Cody. "I hope she's okay."

"She'll be okay. Dr. Greystone'll help her." Joe said with confidence.

"I'm going to the cafeteria to get some soda. Anyone want some?" TK asked.

"Sprite, please."

"Dr. Pepper."

"Okay." Said TK, and he left.

* * *

Gatomon barged into the living room. "That's it, we're takin' over the TV!" She announced. 

"No! We need to see the post-game summary!"

"You'll live." Said Palamon as Biomon put in a movie.

"Who's going to watch the eggs?" Gabumon asked.

"You are."

"Yeah right. What makes you think we'll watch- Aaaagh! Sleepless in Seattle!!!" Veemon screamed.

"It's a chick flick! Run!" The boys cleared out of the room amazingly fast.

"See?" Said Gatomon, "Told ya it would work."

* * *

"Man!" Davis threw down a magazine. "Do you have any idea how old these things are?" 

"No." Matt said, bored.

"Look at the date. December!"

"Only two months ago. That isn't so bad."

"1999."

"Whoa!" Matt came over to see for himself. "Geez! They _are_ old!"

"Wait. 1999?" Joe asked, joining them. "These are _new_ compared to the ones in the ER waiting room."

"Just how much funding does this hospital _get_?"

"Enough. We just use it on more important things than magazines." Joe said, sitting back down in his seat.

"What's more important than magazines?" Davis inquired. "Hey! Mimi!"

Mimi stood by the door, looking dazed and very confused.

"Mimi, what's wrong?" Asked Tai.

"I- I'm p-pregnant." She stuttered. The digidestined stared, trying to take this news in.

"Matt!" Tai accused.

"Don't be silly. We broke up months ago." Matt said.

"Well then who…?" Izzy getting up and walking over to Mimi answered Tai's question.

"Mimi," Izzy said, "I was going to do this at dinner tonight, but seeing as we got interrupted…" He got down on one knee. "I think this is a better time anyway. Will you marry me?"

Tai's eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head.

"Oh, Izzy. Of course I will." She helped him up and they kissed, right there in the doorway.

The others stared, frozen and open-mouthed, at this whole ordeal.

_Izzy and Mimi have been dating. _ Sora thought.

_Izzy and Mimi are getting married. _ Matt thought.

_Izzy and Mimi are going to be parents!_ Cody thought.

_Wait, I don't get it._ Davis thought. _Who's the father?_

TK walked in. "You won't believe what I- Eep!" He made a little squeaking sound when he saw the couple. "Um, this is awkward… uh, here's your soda…" TK edged around them and tossed Tai and Joe their sodas. Tai, with his soccer reflexes, caught the soda with one hand instinctively without tearing his eyes off the kiss. Joe, however, didn't even try, and his soda hit his chair before falling onto the ground. "Okay…Bye!" TK said quickly and escaped into Kari's room.

Izzy and Mimi pulled out and looked nervously at their friends.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sora breathed.

"We didn't think you'd accept it." Izzy answered. "Computer Nerd with Princess Prissy? It didn't go together. We didn't want to complicate things."

The others stared in astonishment.

"Well?" Said Mimi, "Say something."

Tai was the first to regain composure. He got up and walked over. "Prodigious!" He beamed.

* * *

"Oh!" Palamon choked, "The ending always gets me." 

"What time is it?" Biomon asked.

Gatomon checked the clock. "Two."

"In the _morning?_ Whoa."

"Do you think the guys are asleep yet?" Palamon said.

"Probably. There's really not much they can do with those eggs."

"Yeah, but knowing them, they've probably found _something._" Silence fell as reality hit.

"Oh, jeez. What were we thinking?" Gatomon said as they rushed to the room, "With the boys bored, there's no telling what they'll do!" Gatomon could just picture them using the eggs as soccer balls. But when they arrived in the room, they found the boys asleep. "Whew." Gatomon sighed, flopping onto the couch.

"I bet they were planning that, just to get us worked up."

* * *

TK looked at the machine. Apparently, it was supposed to give off a reading when Kari was having a contraction. The green line went up a bit, then jumped. At the exact same time, Kari woke with a start. 

_Whoa. It works_. TK thought as he held Kari's hand and murmured soothing words. After the contraction, TK said, "Good morning."

"Yeah right. It's still dark out."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Horribly. Have you ever tried to sleep during labor? It's not fun."

"Dr. Greystone said that if you wanted to, we could take a walk. It may take your mind off things."

"Anything." Kari said, and TK began to unhook her from the machines the way his obstetrician had instructed.

"Oh, by the way. Mimi's pregnant. She and Izzy are engaged."

"What? Mimi and Izzy are getting married? How long was I _out?_"

"Not that long. Okay, let's go." He helped her up and led her out the door, over their sleeping friends, and into the hall.

* * *

Next chapter, Lord Pata, I promise. 


	15. Enter Nori

TK and Kari spent a while in the halls before heading back. TK gave Kari a novel from the hospital gift shop as they lived through the contractions one at a time. It was almost dawn before Dr. Greystone came back in. She checked Kari's progress.

"Okay, here's the deal. When women are in labor, the contractions start slowly, and then gradually get closer and closer together. Normal." TK and Kari nodded. This wasn't news to them. "However, Kari's contractions are getting more numerous faster than usual. Uncommon, but not unheard of. It just means that you'll be parents sooner than expected."

"How much sooner?" TK asked.

"Probably in a few more hours."

"A few more hours! But before you said-"

"Before her contractions were an hour apart. Now Kari, relax and remember your breathing. I'll be back to check on you soon, but right now, you need to prepare yourselves. It won't be long now. Oh, and you might want to wake your friends up. It's gonna be kinda hard to push Kari's bed outta here with them sprawled all over the floor. We could run them over, I suppose, but then I think I'd lose my job." She walked out of the room, chuckling to herself.

"Hey! Dr. Greystone losing her job! There's an idea!"

"TK!"

"I'm joking, I'm joking."

"She's right though. You should wake them up."

"Okay, fine." He went into the waiting room. "Okay guys. Time to get up. Rise and shine!"

"Mmmf."

"Five more minutes."

"Coffee!"

"I never knew the floor was so _hard._"

"Good morning to you too." TK muttered. But the coffee sounded good, so he went to the cafeteria to get some. Of course, when he came back, most of his friends were still asleep.

"Don't worry, Tiki." Smiled Matt when he saw TK's face. "I'll wake 'em up for ya."

Something in Matt's voice make TK turn. "If you yell 'fire'..."

"Of course not. That joke's old now." He got up and started talking to the sleeping masses one by one.

"Hey, Mimi," he started, "The mall is having a big shoe sale today."

Mimi sat up, suddenly alert. "Shoes!" she squealed. Then she saw Joe, Cody, and Sora hiding giggles and scowled. "That was _not_ funny, Matt! One should never joke about shoes."

Matt moved on. "Izzy, guess what? Dr. Greystone said that Kari is giving birth to three raccoons."

Izzy's eyes snapped open. "But that's scientifically impossible."

"Davis, wake up! You have to be at work in five minutes!" Matt shouted.

"Oh good. I'm early." Davis opened his eyes and smiled, having heard everything from before. Matt stared at him.

"Okay." He said. "This is taking too long. EVERYBODY GET UP BEFORE I POUR THIS HOT POT OF COFFEE ON YOUR HEAD!" There was an immediate stir.

TK sighed and shook his head. "Whatever works…"

* * *

"The girls are still asleep?" Armadillomon asked as he ate his Pop-Tart. "How late did they stay up?" 

"Oh, you know girls. Get 'em together and they'll talk all night." Gabumon said.

"What happens if they're still asleep when the egg hatches?"

"Are you kidding? Gatomon'll wake up, no doubt. No way they'll still be asleep."

"You know, a few months ago I might've questioned that theory, but now I believe you."

* * *

An hour later, TK poured himself his third cup of coffee for the day. 

"Whoa, man, go easy on that stuff." Tai advised.

"Hey, you try staying up all night and see how you feel at the end of it!" TK defended, sipping the dark liquid, then almost spit it out when a shriek came from the other room. "Kari! Are you okay, baby? Bad contraction?"

Kari shook her head. "Sorry. I got kind of surprised. It's just…wet."

"Your water broke." Said Dr. Greystone, coming into the room. "And your contractions are closer together. When you feel an urge to push, gimme a buzz and we'll transfer you to Delivery." Kari nodded her understanding, and Dr. Greystone left the couple alone.

TK got on his knees so that he was eye-level with Kari. "Honey," He started. "We're having a baby this morning."

"I know." She answered. "Everything's going to change."

"Not everything." He smiled. "I'll still love you."

"Awww." Tai and Matt joked.

"Shut up you guys!" Exclaimed Mimi.

"This is the good part!" Said Sora.

TK rolled his eyes and kicked the door between the waiting room and Kari's bed closed. Kari stifled a giggle. She kissed her husband lovingly, but not long enough.

"Oooh!" She grimaced halfway through. "Con-trac-tion!"

* * *

Gatomon dealt the cards. 

"Do you have any threes, Biomon?" She asked.

"Go fish."

"Yay!" Gatomon picked an anchovy from the little tin in the middle of the circle. She popped it in her mouth and gave a satisfied swallow.

"Palamon, any eights?" Asked Biomon.

"Go fish."

"Eew." She picked up the anchovy with revulsion. "Uh, you can have it." She gave it to Gatomon.

"Do we have to play 'Go Fish?' It's getting old." Palamon complained.

"Yeah. I don't like this game. It's so much more fun when I play it with Sora."

"Are you kidding? This is great. Best game in the world." Biomon and Palamon glared at the cat. "Okay fine. Have it your way." And she reluctantly reshuffled the cards.

* * *

"Gaaaaaaaah!" Kari screamed. 

"Okay, Kari. Worst is over… okay…there." TK let go of her hand.

"Whew!" Kari gasped. "That was a _bad_ one!"

"Don't have to tell me." TK massaged his fingers.

"TK. I think it's time. Nori won't wait much longer."

TK jumped up. "Whoa, now? Okay, uh, we'll… we'll get Dr. Greystone! That's it! Yeah! Now, I'm going to find her, but I'll send someone else in for you! Whatever you do, don't panic!" From the way TK was jumping around, Kari could tell that he was trying to take his own advice.

TK ran out into the waiting room. "It's time, everybody! The baby's coming!"

Joe immediately got up from his seat when he saw how shaky TK was. "TK, calm down. Kari will be fine. Deep breaths." Joe breathed with TK before he quieted.

"Wow. I used to think that only the women did breathing exercises." Matt joked.

"Now go to the front desk out in the hall and ask them to page Dr. Greystone." Joe ordered.

"Okay." TK said, and was off.

* * *

Gatomon looked up from her card game, a sense of urgency in her eyes. At the same instant, Patamon turned away from the TV. They got up simultaneously and rushed toward their egg. 

"It's hatching!" Patamon whispered excitedly.

"Yeah." Gatomon snuggled next to her husband and, as they watched, the egg started to vibrate. The others came over, enthralled with this little scene.

* * *

"Alright Kari. To the delivery room!" Dr. Greystone unhooked her bed from the wall and wheeled it down the hall. The digidestined followed, intent on witnessing the whole event. They paraded down the hall to the elevator. "Sorry guys, but, big as these elevators are, you aren't all going to fit." Dr. Greystone, Kari, and TK got in the elevator and closed the door, and Tai immediately began pushing the button for the next elevator. 

"Tai, pushing the button repeatedly won't make the elevator come any faster." Yolei informed him.

"Well, better excessive button-pushing than pacing." Matt said. "That can get really annoying, believe me."

The elevator finally arrived and everyone climbed onboard. Tai tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator pinged through the floors.

"Now let's see." Dr. Greystone was saying when Tai raced into the room. "You said that the only people you wanted in with you two were the brothers, right?"

"You'd better believe it!" Tai yelled.

"Fine. Well get them in here and let's have this kid!" Dr. Greystone didn't have to tell Tai twice. He, and Matt, who was there by now, went into the room while the others settled themselves in their new space.

"At least we have chairs now." Davis said.

"Tai, Matt, I want you back here." Kari ordered, motioning to her sides.

"Oh, come on Kari. Why can't I stand over here?" Tai objected, standing at the foot of the bed.

"Oh please. I might be in labor, but I still have my decency."

"What decency? Remember when we were really little and Mom bathed us in the same tub? This is practically the same!"

"No it isn't."

"Kari, all the action's gonna be here! I wanna experience the miracle of life!"

"You can experience it from my point of view. You're going to have to become a father yourself if you want to see it head on."

Tai gave in, knowing that he'd never win this one.

"What are you doing here?" Dr. Greystone asked the new doctor coming in through the doorway. "Dr. Kossel is supposed to be helping me with this birth."

"She couldn't make it today, believe it or not. Some kind of freak belly button incident." The doctor said. "And, of course, I was the only one available."

"But I thought that this is your vacation week."

"Yeah, but it's alright. I practically live here anyway." He put on some gloves.

"Um, excuse me!" TK interrupted. "But who the heck is this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Dr. Greystone apologized. "Takashis and brothers, I'd like you to meet Dr. McKnight. Apparently he'll be helping deliver the baby."

"And he'd better do it quick!" Kari said through clenched teeth.

"How far along is she?"

"She's feeling the need to push and is fully dilated. Looks like a smooth, easy birth."

"Great. Let's do this." The doctors got into position.

"Okay, Kari. Next contraction, push!"

"Aaargh!"

"Push! Good. Don't forget to breathe. Right." This came from TK, coaxing Kari through the whole thing. "Ohmigosh! I see it!" He exclaimed as the tip of the head became visible. Tai whimpered a bit, partly because he couldn't see it and partially because Kari had his fingers in an uncomfortable death grip.

* * *

"Look!" Armidillomon shouted. A teeny crack formed at the top of the egg. Patamon got up and pressed the tag and crest to one side of the egg, and Gatomon did the same with the digivice to the other side. 

Tentomon gave Izzy's pad of paper to Veemon. "You have fingers. Take notes." He ordered.

* * *

"All right. Head's almost out. One more push!" Kari took a deep breath. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"Did you hear something?" Gabumon asked. 

"Look!"

The crack grew bigger.

* * *

Beads of sweat rolled down Kari's face as she panted for breath. Matt and Tai craned their necks for a first look at their nephew's face. 

"Oh my god…" TK breathed. "He's beautiful…"

"We're not there yet." Dr. Greystone warned. We've still got the shoulders to go. But worst part's over."

Kari strained with all of her dwindling strength, and the shoulder's slowly emerged.

* * *

The top of the egg cracked off. Patamon gazed down at the quivering fuzzy white ball inside.

* * *

"Okay Dad." Dr. McKnight said. "Pull him out." 

"Me?" TK said weakly.

"Unless you want Kari to push him out by herself."

"Oh god, no! TK, _do it!_" Kari said.

TK grasped the baby where Dr. McKnight showed him and gently pulled.

* * *

Patamon grasped the white snowball by its sides and gently pulled.

* * *

TK took the baby out and held it in front of him. Nori's face crumpled and he broke out in a shrill cry. 

"Perfect." Said Dr. Greystone.

* * *

Patamon held the baby out and gave him to Gatomon. 

"He's perfect." He said.

* * *

TK gave Nori to his wife. "Look honey. It's our son." 

"Our son."


	16. Epilogue

A/N- Sheesh. Picky, picky. Come on now, people, you can't rush art! You all complain too much. I didn't get chapter fifteen out soon enough, did I? Did _anyone_ notice the significance of the day that chapter came out? February 15th? Day after Valentines Day? _Nori's birthday?_ Yeah, that's what I thought. I know, I know, I'm mean for making you wait so long for such a stupid reason that I wanted the baby to actually be born on his birthday. Sorry. I'll try not to do it again. Anyway, enjoy the epilogue.

* * *

I looked down at the waking Nori on my chest. I think he fell asleep sometime during the second half of the basketball game on TV, but now he was looking up, blinking his big blue eyes at me. Kari had him dressed in baby-blue footie pajamas, and had mentioned this morning that he had looked "soooo cute" in them. I think that for once, my wife was wrong. Nori looks "soooo cute" whether he's wearing baby-blue footie pajamas or not. 

Nori looked toward the door and started squirming. I followed his gaze to see Patamon and Gatomon pushing their baby in a miniature, old-fashioned pram. I could almost picture Gatomon in a big poofy dress with a matching umbrella and Patamon in a top hat. The image made me chuckle, and Nori squealed happily as my chest shook. He started reaching out for the digimon, and I put him on a blanket that was on the floor. Gatomon did the same with their baby, and Snowporomon bounced over to Nori, where he received a bear hug from the four-month-old. Kari raced in the room at once with her camera (I swear, she can smell these Kodak moments from a mile away) and began clicking, exclaiming about how it, too, was "soooo cute."

The doorbell rang. Kari answered it and said, "Well it's about time you came to visit!"

"Yeah, Yolei!" I agreed. "I mean, you've already been home from the hospital for a full two days!"

"Ha ha ha." She said, making her way into the house, the digimon and Ken following her with their new son in his arms.

"Hello, Osamu!" Kari cooed. "We've been waiting for you! Oh, Yolei! He is soooo cute!"

I wonder if it's possible for my wife to say the word 'so' with only one 'o.'

"Yep!" Yolei beamed. "Just like his daddy is!" She smiled at Ken.

He smiled back. "No. Just like his uncle was." He cradled the Child of Compassion, then came to sit by me on the couch.

"Man!" he said. "My arms are killing me!" He looked at Nori on the floor. "But Nori's got to be at least twenty pounds more."

"Not quite. But he has grown a lot."

"Yeah. Man, I love them this small."

"I know. But it'll be fun to see them grow up to become little people."

"Little people are fine, but I am not looking forward to the teenage years. I'm afraid of Sam becoming some kind of rebel!"

I was suddenly filled with an awkward vision of a sixteen-year-old, pierced eyebrow, green Mohawked Nori trying to convince Kari and I to call him "N-Dawgg." I shook the picture from my mind and said, "You're just being paranoid. Besides, that's a long way from now. He's only, what, five days old?"

"Yeah. Born on June 21st."

The doorbell rang again and Kari opened it to reveal Izzy, Mimi, Tentomon and Palamon on our porch. Everyone exchanged hellos and Mimi and Izzy both went to do their favorite things: Izzy set up his laptop on our coffee table and Mimi started complaining.

"I'm soooo fat!" She whined. There are those four 'o's again.

"Mimi, you're pregnant!" Kari said, using the same voice that I used on Kari a few months ago.

"And you're not that big!" Yolei agreed. "Just wait a couple months more; then you'll be blimp size!"

"Not helping." Mimi said grumpily and flopped down on the couch. Just then, Izzy's laptop screen began to glow, and spat out several light radiant objects. I watched, intrigued, as Palamon caught them and brought them to Mimi, then to her egg, then back to Mimi. Izzy stood up beside Mimi. She held the crests for a moment.

"Curiosity." She said, then, "Faith." She leaned back, obviously pleased with herself, then snapped forward as she realized what had happened.

"Two…" she breathed, then grabbed poor Izzy by the collar and pulled him face to face with her. "There's two!" She yelled, and began shaking him violently. "Why the heck are there two?" Kari and Yolei giggled and took Osamu as Ken and I went to pry Izzy from Mimi's death grip.

"Wow. Twins." Muttered Kari.

* * *

As a mother, I cannot express my feelings for my son in words. I'm not creative enough. Hardly anyone is. But every time I gaze into Nori's eyes, I am reminded of one author who came very close. Tillie Olsen wrote the story, _As I Stand Here Ironing _about a young mother's thoughts of her daughter: 

"She was a beautiful baby. She blew shining bubbles of sound. She loved motion, loved light, loved color and music and textures. She would lie on the floor in her blue overalls patting the surface so hard in ecstasy her hands and feet would blur. She was a miracle to me…"

So goes the excerpt. And when I watch Nori play with his father, TK bouncing him on his leg, I realize how true this is, and the only thing I can do is thank God for this beautiful gift He has given me, and thank Him for the fact that He only gave me _one_ gift.

"_I never bargained for two!" _Mimi screamed.

* * *

A/N (again)- Okay, people, that's it. Thanks for reviewing. Your reviews keep me going through all the slow parts (cough chapter ten cough). I have some messages for some of you in particular, though. 

First, KhakiBlueSocks: Thank you soooo much! You make me feel so good about my work. You kept telling me to show you what I could do, and here ya go! I really wanted to make this chapter special, and I think that I accomplished that. And I kinda understand why you put commentary into your stories. There's so much to say! (For instance, the whole 'car accident jump-starting birth' thing actually happened when my mom was pregnant with me, and the name, Naoko, in chapter nine came from a type of mushroom.) Anyway, now you have to write your sequel. Get to it!

Lord Pata: You have stuck with me from the very beginning. I can always count on you to be one of the first reviewers, and I really appreciate your support, especially me being such a big fan of your stories.

Review Lord: Well, at least I know my stuff is funny. Nothing's worse than putting an un-funny story into the Humor genre. And I would've used your name, but I'm reading a story where Kari and TK's kid's digimon is named Gatamon, and believe me, it gets pretty confusing. Sorry.

Spyrodude3: For now I'm focusing on Kari and TK, but maybe sometime in the future I'll follow the others.

Vigatus: Thanks again for all your ideas. Please understand that I didn't add Mrs. and Mr. Kamiya in this story because I didn't want to complicate things more than I had to. This is my first pregnancy fic, after all.

The Sailor Moon Freak: You kinda scare me…jk, lol. My sister was behind you the whole time.

And I would add messages for everyone else if I thought I'd be done sometime before the time Nori is in high school. But thank you all! Now, as for me, I think I'll lie low for awhile… finish some of those other stories that I haven't looked at for months… and then a sequel! I think Nori needs to develop himself a personality, don't you?

And for you people who can't take the suspense, don't worry, Mimi does warm up to having twins. Both girls, born on November 22nd.


End file.
